Fix

Napping Boosts Sophisticated Memory, Study Shows

By Gina Trapani on November 25, 2008 at 9:34 AM

Neuroscientist William Fishbein says that deep, “slow-wave” sleep can help us commit information to memory, learn new skills, and extrapolate information. Science news site Physorg reports that Fishbein and a graduate student studied English-speaking students’ ability to remember Chinese characters they were taught just before a nap (and some without a nap):

Upon awakening, they took a multiple-choice test of Chinese words they’d never seen before. The nappers did much better at automatically learning that the first of the two-pair characters in the words they’d memorized earlier always meant the same thing—female, for example. So they also were more likely than non-nappers to choose that a new word containing that character meant “princess” and not “ape.”

Add this latest study fuel to the fire of our unabashed pro-nap agenda; and while you’re here see our top 10 ways to sleep smarter and better. Photo by Tina Keller.

Nap without guilt: It boosts sophisticated memory [Physorg.com]


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Comments (AU Comments | US Comments)

  • MC Double Def DP
    November 25, 2008 at 12:15 PM

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • jupiterthunder
    November 25, 2008 at 12:12 PM

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • dharasick
    November 25, 2008 at 12:43 PM

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Archnemesis_Goldenhair
    November 25, 2008 at 1:24 PM

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • jupiterthunder
    November 25, 2008 at 2:19 PM

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Duane
    November 25, 2008 at 2:13 PM

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • mconnolly09
    November 25, 2008 at 2:48 PM

    I heard beer has a similar effect

    mconnolly09

  • TendoMentis
    November 25, 2008 at 3:48 PM

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • ghostwind
    November 25, 2008 at 4:26 PM

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • tekym
    November 25, 2008 at 4:26 PM

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • dharasick
    November 25, 2008 at 5:20 PM

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Swooley
    November 25, 2008 at 5:20 PM

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • BeccaThePromoMami
    November 25, 2008 at 11:41 PM

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Archnemesis_Goldenhair
    November 26, 2008 at 12:12 AM

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • FlameEye
    November 26, 2008 at 12:02 AM

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • eaddict
    November 26, 2008 at 12:30 AM

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Angryrider
    November 26, 2008 at 1:20 AM

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • kaiz3n
    November 26, 2008 at 2:22 AM

    I used to nap in college mid-day; I had read that Booker T. Washington could nap for 15 minutes and feel refreshed again for the rest of the day. Booker knew this before there was a study behind it.

    Now I get out of work and will sometimes take a quick nap. I wish I could take one right now!!

    kaiz3n

  • lucarelli
    November 26, 2008 at 3:49 AM

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • cheesebubble
    November 26, 2008 at 3:39 AM

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • MaggieAethra
    November 26, 2008 at 4:28 AM

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • AlannaIckle
    November 26, 2008 at 1:07 AM

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Johnay
    November 27, 2008 at 6:16 AM

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

  • Darren W.
    November 28, 2008 at 7:25 PM

    Maybe his shirt should have read,

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