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Can we learn new things while we sleep?

It is possible that you have done it yourself on more than one occasion.In those times of exams in which we are full of stress, anxiety and with little time to store all the information we need to have up to date, many students turn to famous method of sleeping with headphones on.There they record part of that agenda to remember.

But is this any use? Can we settle new knowledge while we sleep ? The answer is yes and no.Confused? Don't worry, we'll explain it to you below.

Learning and our brain

Can we learn new things while we sleep?

There was a time when this idea was quite popular.In fact, quite a few experiments in which, for example, tapes were put on German children at night to see if they were able to acquire a new language while they were asleep.Obviously this was impossible and no conclusion could be reached.Really interesting aspects to keep in mind:

  • Neuroscientists tell us that people need sleep to integrate new knowledge.The brain uses precisely these hours of sleep to work in an incredible way.What it basically does is store, organize, classify and integrate all the information made during the day in the h ipocampo.It is in this way that everything is well integrated into long-term memory.
  • There are many experiments performed that show us something curious: people who sleep between 6 and 8 hours in a row often have a better memory than those with insomnia, for example.
  • Another interesting fact: Napping is good for our health and our memory. But be careful, this Half-day nap should be short, between 15 and 20 minutes.Harvard University researchers, for example, remind us that it is something positive and clearly demonstrated: napping is very beneficial for people.

The brain erases useless information of the day at night

Can we learn new things while we sleep?

It was last year when Sciencie magazine published an interesting article from the University of Rochester in New York, where they explained something to take into account. The brain is really an organ as curious as it is fascinating and what it does at night intrigues experts a lot.One of its functions is also to eliminate aspects of what has been done during the day that serve us nothing in our long-term memory, something like taking out the trash late at night.

What is the use of remembering For example, what color was the shirt the man who sold us the newspaper? Or that walking this afternoon in the park, two meters from us, was an old woman walking a small dog with a green collar? You're welcome, except that you are Sherlock Holmes and every detail is essential for you.

Sleep to learn

Can we learn new things while we sleep?

Let's go back to the title of this article Can we learn new things while we sleep? Well, one thing is clear, we will not suddenly learn all the irregular verbs of English, nor the rivers of Europe, nor the name of all the painters of the Renaissance while they are asleep.It is impossible to acquire new information unconsciously from nothing , but if we can be more creative, and how can this be?

  • What our wise brain does during the night is to establish new and intense connections between memories and knowledge.What you studied five years ago is related to all that material, those readings you make every day.For new synapses, new interconnections, creating new concepts that we didn't have before going to sleep.
  • Many artists often say that the best ideas come at night or in the early hours of the tomorrow.When we have already rested, when we are free from pressure and anxiety.Only then our brain has been able to do its job, which is basically to relate new information with the old, and create new concepts.New learnings.

So, remember, if you really want to improve your memory or go well prepared for an exam, rest properly the day before.The information will be more integrated into your brain , you will understand it better and it will become part of your long-term memory.

Who said that sleeping is a bummer thing? Any neuroscientist will answer otherwise.Sleep if you want to be wiser, sleep if you want to be more creative...Not all day, but at least 6 to 8 hours a day.

Image: Tambako The Jaguar, Timothy Krause, Julie Falk, MC Quinn

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