Afternoon nap ‘could improve learning’

The study found that a short nap after a period of learning is beneficial.Picture: TSPLThe study found that a short nap after a period of learning is beneficial.Picture: TSPL
The study found that a short nap after a period of learning is beneficial.Picture: TSPL
AN afternoon nap could be the key to improve learning for students and schoolchildren, according to new research.

A study suggests that receiving rewards as they learn can help cement new facts and skills in their memory, particularly when combined with a 90-minute daytime nap.

The findings, published in the journal eLife, reveal that memories associated with a reward are preferentially reinforced by sleep. Even a short nap after a period of learning is beneficial.

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Lead researcher Dr Kinga Igloi, of the University of Geneva in Switzerland, said: “Rewards may act as a kind of tag, sealing information in the brain during learning.

“During sleep, that information is favourably consolidated over information associated with a low reward and is transferred to areas of the brain associated with long-term memory.

“Our findings are relevant for understanding the devastating effects that lack of sleep can have on achievement.”

Some 31 healthy volunteers were randomly assigned to either a sleep group or a “wake” group and the sensitivity of both groups to reward was assessed as being equal.

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Their brains were scanned while they were asked to remember pairs of pictures. Volunteers were told that remembering pairs in fours would earn a higher reward.

Following a 90-minute break of either sleep or rest, they were tested on their memory for the pairs and asked to rate how confident they were about giving a correct answer. The participants were also tested three months later.

Both groups’ performance was better for highly rewarded picture pairs, but the sleep group performed better overall.

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