Train + Sleep = Learn

Do you recall the many times when your classroom teachers told you that having enough sleep is really important. That not having enough sleep and not eating healthily are just as detrimental to the body of a young boy or girl, as not going for all those piano lessons or extra-curricular activities. Yes, I do remember. But what I remember more vividly were those life-sapping marathon burn-them-midnight-oil sessions right before exams. Yes, during those very hard times, all words of wisdom were forgotten, as happy-go-lucky days were turned upside down.

Well, did you know that there is a scientific reason for needing that golden sleep. In my previous post, I talked about how punishment reinforces learning. Apparently that's not the whole story. In trying to expose the secrets of the brain, scientists have found that sleeping actually plays a major role in helping us remember what we have learned during the day [1].

Unlike the computer hard-disk or flash memory, which can save information in an instant, the brain needs time to process and carve our experience as memories. For the brain, this happens when we are asleep. So just when you thought that sleeping is needed only to regain physical strength, out comes a revelation that it is good for mental growth as well.

So, in case your 6 year old finds out about this little article and tries to be a smart alec when questioned about his/her excessive sleeping. Just tell them that, "No sleeping doesn't make you smarter. First of all, you must put in the effort to get those information in the brain (for sleep to do any good)".

[1] G. Cacalano et al., "Neutrophil and B cell expansion in mice that lack the murine IL-8 receptor homolog," Science, vol. 265, pp. 682-684, Jul. 1994.