Napping: Improving Recall of Declarative Memories in Children Velo-Vincent van Houden UC Berkeley Introduction Sleep has an undoubtedly profound effect on cognitive function and memory consolidation in young children. Policy makers have the ability to influence sleeping patterns in children by means of scheduling of classes and funding activities — therefore research into sleeping patterns for optimal achievement is very important when considering the structure of early education. Extensive research exists showing the positive effects of napping on cognitive performance tasks but there is still somewhat of a gap in the quantitative information of adolescent napping via actimeter or electroencephalograph when analyzing the results of declarative memory recall as well as controlling for the effects of social interaction in lecture settings. Research on preschool children illustrated that sleep spindles in midday naps enhanced learning for memories acquired earlier that day (Kurdziel, Duclos & Spencer, 2013). A similar study conducted with adolescents showed that napping enhanced the duration of declarative memories which demonstrates the continued benefits of napping through development (Lemos, Weissheimer & Riberio 2014). A later study showed that nap schedules modulate children’s motor learning in finger tapping exercises and facilitate skill retention for younger children (Ren, Guo, Yan, Liu, & Jia, 2015). In another study, infants who were in a nap
“ Robert Stickgold, a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, proposes that sleep-including short naps that include deep sleep-offers our brains the chance to decide what new information to keep and what to toss.”(lines 62-71). This means that if people have naps that include deep sleep, their brain will throw out useless information and keep important information that is new. This makes Randall's argument stronger because if Randall only had kids and a teacher it would not be as effective, but if doctors or professors or people like that then it is more effective. Another piece of evidence is, “In another study conducted by Simon Durrant, a professor at the University of Lincoln, in England, the amount of time a subject spent in deep sleep during a nap predicted his or her later performance at recalling a short burst of melodic tones.”(lines 57-59). This means that the amount of deep sleep during a nap can predict performance at knowing melodic tones. This makes Randall's argument stronger because since Durrant is a professor, he went to school for four years or more to learn about the mind, which includes sleep studies, instead of a teacher who goes to school to teach and gets class studies from resources. In Lang’s article, “Turn Off, Tune Out, Tune In, she only has one important credible source, who is a doctor. She also has a source who is called the National Sleep Foundation, “But in a national survey
In the article , “ The Truth about Napping”, the text analyzes how, “...nighttime sleep or a daytime nap, primes the brain to function at a higher level, allowing us to come up with better ideas, find solutions to puzzles more quickly, identify patterns faster and recall information more accurately,” (“The Truth about Napping”, paragraph 6). This points out that both nighttime and daytime naps can assist in healing the brain concentrate and focus while dealing with laborious puzzles. Napping can also help the brain become attentive enough to the point where recalling information is an effortless task. Identifying patterns are an asset from having an attentive and alert perspective which comes from the benefits of napping as well. In the end, napping either in the morning or at nighttime is profitable while dealing with difficult predicaments and helping one overcome them with
School start times play a very big role in a student’s overall development, especially when they aren’t getting enough sleep because of it. An important factor to consider for a student’s development is the act of sleeping; that a lack of it can cause serious problems to the students’ growing body. According to research done with Brown University’s Julie Boergers, the author of the letter “Benefits of later school start times”, the amount of sleep that adolescents need ranges from 8.5 to 9.5 hours of sleep. Only 17 percent of these students
Many researches inform that sleep affects learning because people organize and absorb information during the REM (rapid-eye- movement) sleep. With an extensive amount of sleep time, students could absorb information more successfully. The effect of delay school start times on academics is obvious. In Finley Edwards’s research, the Wake County School District changed the first bell to an hour later, and this resulted in a three percent increase in both the math and reading standardized test scores. This change affects teenagers, who are most likely to begin puberty, the most. With the data given, teenagers' test grade have the most significant improvement. Also, Edwards finds out that with delayed start time, students use less time on watching television and more time on homework. Being able to sleep-in more improves students’ behaviors. Students are less likely to zone out or fall asleep in class. Absences and tardies decrease too (Edwards). This prevents students from missing information, and they would be able to learn all the knowledge they need in school. In a way, this could affect the world. With more education received, students would become more creative and view the world differently due to a tremendous amount of knowledge gained. They are the world’s future rising stars, and they are the ones that develop more solutions for global issues and improvements on the environment in the future. Students are the next generation of pillars for this country. The more information exposes to them, the brighter the future of this nation. Starting schools later means fewer tardies and absences, which can guarantee that they will absorb a massive amount of knowledge and
A recent study showed that students do not fully wake up until around 10:30 A.M. proving that schools start way too early for them to absorb all the knowledge given to them. The main goal of a school is to educate their pupils but with the majority of them too tired to focus, the goal cannot be reached. A short while ago, a study was conducted to see if naps really did affect the attention span and focus of students in a classroom. Students who were allowed to
After a long seven-hour day, have you ever noticed a kindergartner who seems extremely exhausted? Their brains have been powered on all day and haven’t had the time to fully recharge. Are they sleep deprived, we wonder? Therefore, while researching many sources, a study was found which focused on four and five-year-old’s ' memory following a nap. According to Kurdziela, Duclosb, & Spencer (2013), study results demonstrated that children had better memory recall following a nap than when they had been kept awake. Therefore, the study concluded that children functioned better when they received a nap during the day. Young children between the ages of five and six benefit emotionally, cognitively, socially, and physically after brief rest
Therefore, the rapidly developing cognitive functions of infants necessitate even more rapid and consistent sleep cycles to foster their learning. Sleep plays a role in the memory consolidation process when the baby is awake. It has not yet been determined if infants can learn while asleep (Tarullo, Balsam & Fifer, 2011).
In recent years, much debate and research has occurred over the process of memory reconsolidation. Understanding the processes that underlie memory formation retrieval and storage is key to understanding and guiding treatment for patients with conditions such as posttraumatic stress disorder. This essay discusses the processes of consolidation and how that impacts on reconsolidation and the implications of this knowledge on patients suffering posttraumatic stress disorder.
How is memory encoded and what methods can lead to greater recall? There have been many different models suggested for human memory and many different attempts at defining a specific method of encoding that will lead to greater recall. In this experiment subjects are asked to do a semantic task on a word related to them and an orthographic task in which they analyze the letter in the word. The results of the experiment indicate that the words which where encoded semantically and are related to the self have greater recall.
When students wake up with an insufficient amount of sleep they can not comprehend amounts of information as well. “Sleep is necessary to consolidate a memory (make it stick) so that it can be recalled in the future (Robinson, 1). Not being able to memorize information learned defeats the purpose of ever learning it. When a majority of the assignments require students to remember info and be able to replicate a lesson for a good grade students need to be able to remember as much as possible. If teens were allowed to sleep in more they would have a greater chance of remembering things for tests, and be able to be more active. Lack of sleep is hurting students abilities to learn and to keep in what they
The American education system is diverse and unique, and one aspect that varies wildly across the country is school start times. Deciding the start times for schools is dependent on many factors including bus schedules (Edwards, 2012), biological development (Borlase, Gander, & Gibson, 2013; Perkinson-Gloor, Lemola, & Grob, 2013), and parental preference (Edwards, 2012; Perkinson-Gloor et al., 2013). School start times are considered one aspect that can affect sleep duration, since they affect wake time. Adequate, high quality sleep is extremely important for adolescents and inadequate sleep can lead to a number of negative outcomes including poorer physical and mental health, as well as poorer academic performance (Borlase et al., 2013; Edwards, 2012; Keller, Smith, Gilbert, Bi, Haak, & Buckhalt, 2015; Paksarian, Rudolph, Jian-Ping, & Merikangas, 2015; Perkinson-Gloor, et al., 2013). Therefore, school start times are important to the field of education, because start times affect sleep and sleep, or lack thereof, can affect cognitive ability and performance. We are always looking to improve our schools and better educate our children, and the adjustment of the start time is a small change that may have a big impact.
Sleep is essential for optimal human function. In fact, a lack of sleep can actually affect important cognitive functions, like memory. A 2007 study added to the already substantial evidence that even acute total sleep deprivation impairs attentiveness, working memory, and reaction time in various tasks (Alhola, Polo-Kantola). One such way to further this investigation of the effects of sleep deprivation on memory is through the Memory Interference Test, or MIT. MIT is a program designed by Gaston Pfluegl, Ph.D., and Enrique Lopez, Psy. D., at UCLA to test the memory of students. Along with a memory test, the MIT also anonymously collected the physical states, mental states, and demographics of each student test subject, providing a substantial database through which students can test hypotheses, such as the connection between sleep deprivation and memory. Since the MIT requires short-term memory recall, the hours of sleep a student had before taking the test could have a noticeable effect on his or her performance. An unprecedented study this year found that sleep deprivation may actually even induce false memories, which would certainly impact a student taking the MIT because the test requires the subject to recognize images that have been previously presented to them (Frenda, et al). The hypothesis is that students who slept 8 hours before the test will perform better on the MIT than students who only slept 4 hours. The null hypothesis is that students who had adequate
A long-term study on a patient referred to as “H.M.” allowed scientist to better understand the separation of the declarative and procedural memories. The patient had parts of his temporal lobe, hippocampus and amygdala removed in 1953 in an attempt to cure his epilepsy. After the surgery, H.M. could still form new procedural memories, but long-term declarative memories could no longer be formed. The type of amnesia that H.M. experienced allowed for a good understanding of how particular areas of the brain are linked to specific processes in memory formation. The fact that he was able to learn hand-eye coordination skills such as mirror drawing, despite having absolutely no memory of having learned or practiced the task before, also suggested the existence different types of long-term memory, which are now known as declarative and procedural memories
Several studies have linked sleep to the transfer of knowledge into long term memory, while others show how the lack of sleep is disruptive to learning. If school start times truly have an impact on the functionality of the teenage brain, educators should be doing everything in their power to make sure schools begin at a proper hour. The purpose of this study was to extend research done in other parts of the country, traditionally in urban areas, that attempted to show a link between student achievement and school start times. This study aims to compare two different schools, with comparable demographics, in hopes of extending the research to small, rural schools. Data from two rural schools were obtained, organized, and tested to see if there was a statistically significant difference between the average GPA of the two schools for the “2011-2012 school year. Graduation rates, or continuous enrollment, from the 2010-2011 school year were also analyzed in this study. The results showed a trend toward a difference in GPA between both schools, but no statistically significant difference was found. The school that had a later start time, however, did show a statistically significant higher graduation rate than the school that had an earlier start
A child’s environmental factors also contribute to their need for sleep. Gerber (2014), states children in the United States have busy after school schedules, too many electronics, working parents, and heavy homework expectations. Therefore, teachers and school districts have to understand that not all children will receive the recommended amount of sleep a night. Kindergarten naps or short rest periods could be extremely beneficial. However, lack of sleep in children can affect behavior, impair cognitive processes, and negatively impact physical health (Cairns & Harsh, 2015; Kihm & Rolling, 2014).