A recent study featured in the Journal of Sleep Research indicates that the time-honored suggestion to “sleep on a decision” is indeed wise counsel, proposing that taking a nap during the day may enable individuals … Read more
A recent study featured in the Journal of Sleep Research indicates that the time-honored suggestion to “sleep on a decision” is indeed wise counsel, proposing that taking a nap during the day may enable individuals to absorb information that isn’t readily apparent to the conscious mind. This research involved monitoring the brain activity and reactions of participants before and after taking a brief nap. The findings reveal that a short span of sleep assists individuals in more effectively evaluating the advantages and disadvantages when faced with a tough choice.
The study was conducted at the University of Bristol, and the Medical Research Council founded it. The study aimed to identify whether short sleep can help us process unconscious information, and how that affects our behavior and reaction time. The results reveal a significant benefit of day-time naps on cognitive brain function and suggest our mind can process information that we are not consciously aware of during those naps.
Previous studies showed that sleep helps with problem-solving. However, it’s not clear if some kind of mental process is required before or during shuteye in order for sleep to help problem-solving. Researchers have noticed that our brain processes information at a subliminal level within the mind, to the extent the entire process is not conscious. The electrical activity naturally produced in the brain was measured using an EEG before and after a nap, and the results suggest that sleep (not the state of wakefulness) improves processing speed in tasks where information is hidden or hard to grasp. Rest doesn’t enhance processing speed in simple, control tasks, etc.
We already know that sleep positively affects the process of acquiring knowledge and recall of information, and we also know that snoozing improves and strengthens our memory. However, from this study, we can also conclude that naps and sleep can also improve our responses and help us to process information faster. Dr. LizCoulthard from the University of Bristol Medical School announced further research that will aim to study larger samples and find out more about the underlying neural mechanisms. Researchers are also interested in finding out see if and how the results differ between ages.
Co-founder of Counting Sheep and Sleepaholic
Leave a Reply