The Primary Literature On Sleep And Memory Essay

Sleep is important for our health and well-being. Extensive research has been done on the effects of sleep. These studies consistently show that sleep plays a vital role in promoting physical health, longevity, and emotional well-being. This explains why, after a good night's sleep, we feel better, our thoughts are clearer, and our emotions are less fragile. Without adequate sleep our judgment, mood, and ability to learn and retain information are weakened.

This paper examines five different sources of information that addresses information pertaining to wakeful resting or sleeping and the effects it has on memory garnered by experiments performed on humans and animals. Wakeful resting is defined as an individual that has not fallen asleep but has engaged in a period of rest that cuts them off from the distractions of the outside world. Sleep is the bodies natural cycle of rest that suspends the consciousness and allows both the body and the mind to take a break from any stressful activities and recover. By either taking a short wakeful rest or going to sleep after learning new material, memory consolidation in both humans and animals will be improved, and it is not limited to humans that

There are a few factors that are essential for life such as breathing or eating, but one of the most essential factor is sleep. Even though the amount of sleep people need differs from one individual to another, the fact is that eventually everyone needs to sleep. People know the importance of sleep, but due to the increased workload and the pressure of society people are getting less sleep. As a result, there has been an increase interest on the effects lack of sleep has on the mind especially the memory of a person. Many questions arose about the relationship between sleep and memory due to the fact most high school and college students have become sleep deprived. For example, does more sleep mean higher grades?

An article in Nature Neuroscience from February 2009 describes an experiment which was conducted regarding sleep and its correlation to memory. Memory was impaired after 35 hours of sleep deprivation weekly and constant shallow sleep. Regular sleep benefits memory as newly stored information is easily encoded. Proper sleep is crucial for processing and retaining new information. Those who suffer from sleep deprivation struggle to maintain new information and with comprehension skills. In order for students to maximize their learning capabilities, they need the proper sleep to be mentally prepared for

Considering the restoration model, the concept explains, “Sleep recharges our run-down bodies and allows us to recover from physical and mental fatigue” (187). Considering this, days that I work especially hard in the classroom and in the gym I will follow up with a good night’s rest. In addition, because I am bombarded with information every day, from studying and homework assignments, I will be sure to create my sleep schedule while considering the memory consolidation theory, which states that during sleep the brain begins a gradual process by transferring information into the long-term memory (188). In light of these two reasons, my sleep and circadian rhythm management becomes even more essential. Experiencing this better sleep, my body and mind will refresh and my ability to pay attention and encode material in class will

The function of sleep is to promote restoration. The human body accumulates damages due to impact strain and from reactive oxygen species that damage cells and buildup during times of activity (Sleep-wake cycle, 2006). During sleep, most of the body's systems are in an anabolic state, helping to restore the immune, nervous, skeletal, and muscular systems (Sleep-wake cycle, 2006). Most of the body has restorative processes that can supplement the restorative processes that happen during sleep for long periods of time, but the brain is more reliant on regular intervals of sleep for restoration as quiescent restoration is insufficient (Sleep-wake cycle, 2006). When the body does not get enough sleep, most body functions work at diminished capacity. (Brain Basics, 2017). Sleep deprivation is defined as obtaining inadequate sleep to support adequate daytime alertness (Kryger, Roth, & Dement, 2005). The pathological effects of sleep deprivation can lead to undesirable physiologic

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

Synaptic plasticity refers to a process through which the brain undergoes neural changes due to alterations in synaptic strength. Many studies have demonstrated that these synapses have the ability to strengthen or weaken on account of synaptic activity. In other words, an increase in synaptic activity will further strengthen that connection, making it more sensitive to a particular stimulus. Conversely, a decrease in synaptic activity will weaken the connection such that it loses its sensitivity to a given stimulus. The neuronal events that result in the strengthening or weakening of a synapse are explained through two mechanisms – Long-Term Potentiation (LTP) and Long-Term Depression (LTD). In fact, scientists believe that the coupling of these two mechanisms essentially contributes to memory and learning of an individual.

In this article, researchers used three studies to attempt to determine if sleep affects declarative memory (Schönauer, Pawlizki, Köck, & Gais, 2014). The study seems to test an association between the variables of sleep and declarative memory, and the study attempts to make the casual claim that “Sleep does not preferentially consolidate a specific kind of declarative memory, but consistently promotes overall declarative memory formation” (Schönauer et al., 2014, para. 5). The overall validity of this experiments appears to be quite strong, as the researchers appeared to carefully measure their variables and prioritized the different validities in order to achieve an accurate result.

Sleep is one of the unavoidable daily-living activities and it is one of the most important factors contributing to a person’s health. A quality sleep is essential for the physical, cognitive and psychological well-being of a person. Learning, memory processing and maintenance of the brain are among the most important functions of sleep. In addition to maintaining the brain, sleep has important roles in controlling the

Sleep is undoubtedly one of the most essential requirements for the human body to function properly. It plays a very important role in ensuring the wellness of the human body both physically as well as mentally. In fact, the importance of sleep is clear from the fact that it helps you in maintaining a good lifestyle throughout our entire lifetime. Not only does it help maintain our physical and mental health; rather it also helps in maintaining a decent and healthy lifestyle along with ensuring safety from a number of fatal diseases. It is usually said that the mood in which you wake up is largely dependent on the type of sleep you have been in. This in itself is a big proof of the importance of sleep in our lives. While sleeping, our body finally gets its share of rest and it also gets ample time in rejuvenating from all the wear and tear that it went through during the entire day. Not only this, the body is in its own working condition when we are sleeping as this is the time when it supports the healthy functioning of the brain as well as physical attributes of our body.

This article is from The Journal of Experimental Psychology, and was written on an experiment performed by psychologist Bruce R. Ekstrand, from the University of Colorado. He experimented on the effects that sleep has on one's memory, after learning a particular bit of knowledge, in this case a certain list of twelve three-letter words.

Neuroscience has been a foundational topic and one that is interesting to explore. We as human beings are so complicated that we can’t really tell why we are even conscious! In fact, there is a multitude of research on how the brain is neurologically connected to mind and behavior. As someone who preserves about seven hours of sleep, I feel that sleep is vital for living organisms to function in their daily activities. However, I stumbled upon an article that discusses the importance of taking a rest. While people have the impression that sleep will attribute to a healthier mind and body, many wouldn’t recognize the importance of rest in conjunction of storing information. In fact, resting for a few minutes can improve memory recollection rather

Sleeping is extremely important for all mammals, but humans especially. Without sleep we are unable to function properly and at our fullest abilities. When we sleep we grow, and it is an opportunity for us to dream which has many benefits. Sleep is also a way for us to relieve ourselves of stress.

 The goal is to avoid, "clocks on collision," and to allow internal clocks to match external clocks, this is why night shifts are often on weekly rotation.