Light Sleep Enough to Integrate New Memories

In the Next Brain Blog we review techniques that are proven to enhance brain function and cognitive performance.  Sometimes the techniques are mundane such as proper nutrition, aerobic exercises and sleep.  But even when they are mundane we search for the twists or specifics that can transform the obvious into a unique insight or practice.

Take sleep for example. Earlier posts discussed how dreaming can improve responses to a maze navigation problem by a factor of 10, how you can focus your dreaming to solve problems using a specific 5 -step method and the specifics (duration, location, use of caffeine) for catnaps that have brain boosting effects.  What this tell us is that even though a technique is ordinary, there is an art to using it to improve brain function and cognitive performance.

A new article in the Journal of Neuroscience illustrates this point.  Sleep Spindle Activity is Associated With the Integration of New Memories and Existing Knowledge demonstrates that subjects that reach at least stage two sleep have deeper learning of new vocabulary than those subjects that don’t sleep.  A sleep spindle is a special form (burst) of brainwave that represents onset of stage two sleep. This is about half the time we are asleep when we are not in REM. Stage two is a period of light sleeping.

Bottom line – a light sleep is enough to get our thoughts together and associate new words with existing knowledge to deepen learning.