Sleep Plays Bigger Role in Memory and Learning in Young Adults

In a recent study conducted by Baylor University’s Sleep Neuroscience and Cognition Laboratory, researchers found that sound sleep in young and middle-aged people helps memory and learning, but as they hit their seventh, either and ninth decades, older adults generally don’t sleep as much, or as well —and sleep is not as strongly linked to memory. The study notes that the benefits of a sound night’s sleep for young adults are diverse and unmistakable — with deep sleep helping memory reinforcement by taking pieces of a day’s experiences, replaying them and strengthening them for better recollection.  “If sleep benefits memory and thinking in young adults but is changed in quantity and quality with age, then the question is whether improving sleep might delay — or reverse — age-related changes in memory and thinking,” said an assistant psychology and neuroscience professor at Baylor. As people grow older, they wake up more at night and have less deep sleep and dream sleep — both of which are important for overall brain functioning. Researchers’ extensive review began with studies as long ago as 1967, including more than 200 studies measuring sleep and mental functioning. To read more about this study, click here.