Behavior: Napping Can Prime the Brain for Learning

AUTHOR: Roni Caryn Rabin
PUBLICATION NAME: The New York Times
DATE OF PUBLICATION: February 23, 2010
SUMMARY: Research lead by Matthew Walker, an assistant professor of psychology and neuroscience at University of California - Berkeley, demonstrated that young adults who slept for at least an hour and a half in the afternoon increased their memory capacity. This study reflects a well-known fact in which toddlers who take afternoon naps have greater learning capacities than those who don't. This study also "suggests that sleep can actually restore the ability to learn." Educators around the country have consistently emphasized the need for adolescents to sleep for at least 8 hours, and this study supports this claim; as Walker put it, "You need to sleep before learning, to prepare your brain, like a dry sponge, to absorb new information." Everyone should be aware of this study, so all can learn the importance of getting a full night's sleep!
LINKS TO STUDY: None that were included in the original article.
ARTICLE: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/23/health/research/23beha.html
SUBMITTED BY: Bettina Pancho