Summary: Research at the University of Jyväskylä shows that sleep deprivation impairs learning, especially through the functions of the brain’s hippocampus. Even though resetting the clocks can affect alertness, short-term sleep disturbances do not permanently impair our learning ability.
Key Takeaways:
- Sleep Deprivation Impairs Learning: Lack of sleep disrupts the brain’s ability to effectively consolidate memories, particularly in the hippocampus, which is crucial for long-term memory.
- Both NREM and REM Sleep are Essential: Different stages of sleep (NREM and REM) play distinct but complementary roles in the consolidation of different types of memory, suggesting both are necessary for optimal learning.
- Temporary Sleep Disruption Doesn’t Cause Permanent Harm: Short-term sleep deprivation, such as after clock changes, may temporarily impair learning, but these effects are not permanent.
Researchers at the Department of Psychology of the University of Jyväskylä have studied how sleep deprivation can affect an individual’s learning processes. Their research focused on the hippocampus, which is especially responsible for our long-term memory.
“Certain brain phenomena related to long-term memory are most common during sleep,” says associate professor Miriam Nokia, in a release. “Our interest in studying functions related to the consolidation of memory traces finally led us to examine the hippocampus during the first periods of rest and sleep following learning.”
Brain Activity Varies in Different Sleep Stages
“Brain activity is very different during the NREM and REM sleep stages: during REM sleep the electroencephalogram (EEG) partly resembles wakefulness, whereas during NREM sleep, the brain mainly exhibits phenomena typical of this state, such as slow rhythmic activity,” says Nokia.
Several research groups have tried to identify the connection between the stages of sleep and learning. Since the brain activity during NREM and REM sleep differ, it has been reasonable to assume NREM and REM sleep would have different, diverging effects on the consolidation of memory traces also during rest.
The phenomenon has been studied with the help of several experiments in which people have first been taught various tasks, and then either early night (NREM) sleep or early morning hours (REM) sleep has been disturbed, and after this, the participant’s memory performance has been observed. The results have been contradictory, but it seems that both stages of sleep are needed for learning different things.
One thing, however, has become obvious based on research: sleep deprivation clearly impairs learning.
“If sleep is disturbed or sleep is deprived altogether,” says Nokia, “things we have previously learned will not be stored in memory as efficiently as usually.”
Well-Rested Brains Meet Everyday Challenges More Flexibly
Sleep helps us maintain our neural plasticity, and, consequently, our behavioral flexibility. Sleep affects not only the processing of past experiences but also how people are prepared to face challenges in the next waking period. A good night’s rest and a well-rested brain help us find more effective solutions to everyday challenges.
Even though changing the clocks next week may affect our alertness and learning ability in the following days, Nokia and her research group have a comforting message: “The temporary effects can be dramatic, but one or more nights of bad sleep do not permanently impair our learning ability.”
ID 47585822 © Decade3d | Dreamstime.com
Leave a Reply