Improving Recall Of Declarative Memories Essay

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.

The acquisition process of learning and experiencing is hindered due to lack of focus and attention. It is difficult to obtain information when the mind cannot focus on what is being taught. Students pick up on parts of the lesson which enable them to gain deeper understanding of the overall topic. Consolidation is a function of sleep that represents the brain's ability to retain memories. Sleep is crucial to help retain information effectively so they can be recalled back in the future. This procedure takes place in our sleep by strengthening the nerve connections in our brain to make our memory sharp. Sleep allows the brain to process factual information and procedural memories of the day, which are then imprinted in our long-term memory. An increase in sleep can dramatically enhance the brain’s ability to consolidate memories. When it comes time to recalling back on memories, memory retention can be improved with sleep. Studies show that after a good night of sleep or naps, people performed memory tasks better. Jeffery Ellbogen from Harvard Medical School, performed an experiment on 60 healthy students. The group was given 20 pairs of random words to memorize within one day and return back for a test. Ten people had to memorize the pairs without any sleep and the other half after a well-rested night of sleep. As a result, sleepers did significantly better over the non-sleepers. The sufficiently rested sleepers accurately memorized on an average of 94 percent of the pairing, compared to an 82 percent average of the sleepless group. Information is more easily remembered when enough sleep is obtained. Getting enough sleep daily is crucial to help store more valuable information in our memory for a longer

“ 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

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

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

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.

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.

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

According to clinical psychologist Reut Gruber, Short or poor sleep is a significant risk factor for poor academic performance that is frequently ignored.” In other words if students came to school with enough sleep, then they are able to concentrate more. They listen to teachers lecture carefully rather than taking nap during class. They will have more tendency to participate in class discussions and activities. This led to better grades and decreases the failure

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

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).

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

Later classes lead to better grades. Students who said they got poor grades reported getting twenty-five minutes less sleep a night and going to bed an average forty minutes later than kids with good grades did. Cognitive function and psychomotor skills are closely related to sleep, and numerous studies have correlated sleep loss with significant decreases in children and adolescents’ performance (Wolfson 1). Studies of middle school and high school students reported that more sleep, earlier bedtimes, later weekday rise times, and less daytime sleepiness were associated with better grades in school and greater motivation to do one’s best in school (Wolfson 2).

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

Taking a nap results in “a short term boost in alertness” (”How Much Sleep is Enough?”), improvement in mental alertness, productivity, mood, fatigue (“Ask the Sleep Doctor”), and happiness (“The Secret Truth about Napping”). With these increased, overall daily performance is dramatically improved, including less mistakes are committed. With the improvements in mood and happiness, kids are more likely to have better behavior. These benefits can be from any deep sleep, whether it’s at night or in the day. However, “napping doesn’t provide all of the benefits of nighttime sleep” (How Much Sleep is Enough?”) Despite this, napping has most of the benefits as nighttime sleep does and is needed during the daytime. Naps are extremely helpful in everyday