Sleep-Learning Is Just a Dream

8216;8216;If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is,8217;8217; said Edward O8217;Malley, director of Norwalk Hospital Sleep Disorders Center. 8216;8216;We all think we8217;re super-duper beings, but none of it8217;s true. We8217;re all biological beings with biological limits. Until we can grow extra heads and extra brains, that is what we can expect.8217;8217;

In fact, our single brain performs amazing stuff, even at rest. A recent study from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center shows that MRI scans reveal brain regions shifting dramatically during sleep, almost like the brain is working to store memory efficiently. Because of this storage, upon awakening the subject is able to recall newly learned tasks quicker and more accurately. The connection between sleep and learning is huge8212;but researchers say sleeping augments learning. It doesn8217;t facilitate it.

During sleep, the brain goes through periods of activity, including REM sleep, or rapid eye movement, when dreams occur. The older the sleeper, the less REM sleep needed. In deep sleep brain cells begin to fire in concert. Think of it as millions of football fans doing the wave around a stadium. To interrupt that with, say, a language tape, is to ask the brain to change track and perform a completely different activity. 8216;8216;There8217;s a point where brain waves change, and where it takes a greater-than-normal stimulus to get someone8217;s attention,8217;8217; said Daniel McNally, medical director at the Sleep Disorders Center at the University of Connecticut Health Center.

The brain during sleep cannot process new information, or store information collected during the day. For example, McNally suggests thinking of the evenings you8217;ve fallen asleep in front of the TV. The average sleeper will wake up at 2 a.m. or so, groggy and vaguely sick to his or her stomach. Yet McNally said UConn has clients who leave the TV on insisting they need background noise to fall asleep. 8216;8216;But while it8217;s on, the odds are there are more arousals, more awakenings, and the brain8217;s reacting to the noises,8217;8217; said McNally.

But if the brain at rest isn8217;t able to absorb new information, the brain approaching rest can, said O8217;Malley. 8216;8216;During the twilight stage, when you8217;re drifting in and out of sleep, you8217;re in a data state in which you do have some awareness,8217;8217; said O8217;Malley. 8216;8216;Your fact-checking mechanism is off-line, and you absorb information readily.8217;8217; But twilight time lasts only a few minutes8212;or seconds, depending on level of tiredness.

On the other hand, according to the National Sleep Foundation, lack of sleep impairs the ability to pay attention, communicate, think, and affects mood, among other things. Some tasks8212;rule-based or logical, in particular8212;may not be as affected by sleep deprivation. But daytime learning is enhanced by sleep, said Asher Qureshi, director of St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center8217;s Sleep Disorders Center. 8216;8216;Let8217;s say I8217;m trying to memorise three sentences while awake, and then during REM sleep, my brain will consolidate the memory,8217;8217; said Qureshi. 8216;8216;Even 10 years from now, we can recall them.8217;8217;