At the Center for Brain and Behavior Research at the University of Hafi (Israel) they have just found a foolproof method to improve thefixation of memoriesand theskill: drop one90 minute nap in the afternoon.
To reach this conclusion, the researchers, in collaboration with the Sleep Laboratory of the Sheba Medical Center in Tel Aviv, have studied the ability of a series of subjects to repeat asequence of finger movements. The participants were divided into two groups, one of which was allowed to sleep for an hour and a half after learning the sequence, while the others stayed awake. To his surprise. the group that had napped in the evening had a significant improvement in their ability to repeat the exercise. However, after a full night’s sleep in both groups, all participants matched their skill level. According to Avi Karni, head of the study, it was thus shown that “a daytime nap accelerates and improves brain dexterity.”
On the other hand, a second experiment revealed that thememory consolidationI also knowaccelerateswith the dream. If in one day we acquire two different skills or knowledge, the learning process of the second can interfere with the first. Except, says Karni, if between both learning processes we sleep for 90 minutes.
Although experts do not yet know what is the sleep mechanism behind these processes, Karni is convinced that his research brings us a little closer to being able to develop effective methods to accelerate the consolidation of long-term memory in adults.
