The Benefits of Napping

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We sometimes think naps are just for babies, the old, and the slothful.  However scientists are now showing that napping may enhance a persons capacity to learn whatever their age.

In one recent study college students were challenged to detect subtle changes in an image during four different test periods on the same day.  Their speed and accuracy was found to level off during the second session.  However, those participants who took a thirty-minute nap after the second session showed no decline in performance in the final two sessions.  But those who didn't nap showed a significant decline in performance in the last two sessions.

Students who took a one hour nap responded progressively faster and more accurately in the third and fourth sessions.  It is believed that napping allows neurons in the brain to be protected while they consolidate what has been learned about a procedure.

In another study a group of volunteers spent an afternoon learning to navigate between landmarks in a computer generated virtual town.  After exploring the town they underwent PET scans while trying to retrace various routes.  Those who remembered the way best displayed substantially greater hippocampus brain activity than those with poorer recall.

During a later sleep period, those who had explored the virtual town showed more hippocampus activity while sleeping than others.

So next time remember the advice to "sleep on it" may now be scientifically validated.