Lesson 10: Sleep and Learning

Recent studies have shown that sleep is much more related to learning than commonly thought.

As a teacher, I'm aware of a couple of areas where sleep affects learning. I find that students learn better in courses that last longer. For instance, courses that run all day for a month are not as effective as courses that run for 2 hours per day for 5 months. I think that this has to do with how sleep helps our memory and students get more sleep between lessons in a course that lasts longer. There have been recent experiments that show that during sleep, our memories our consolidated. Information is processed and taken from short-term memory to be stored in long-term memory. So learning is consolidated by sleep.

Then there is the daily attention and focus that is needed for learning. If students haven't had enough sleep, they can't concentrate in class and can't learn what the lesson is about. They are apt to find the subject boring and the teacher dull but with enough sleep, their attitude to their studies can change quite dramatically. When students are sleeping well, they are alert, interested, and able to soak up knowledge. Sleep deprivation diminishes activity in the centre of the brain where gathered information is first stored. This means that a lot of information cannot be taken in. But well rested students can hold more ideas in their heads, can think through new ideas clearly, and learning doesn't seem hard.

I had one student who was struggling in school tell me that he was fine in grade 2. He was learning well with no difficulties. Then he started playing video games late into the night and he couldn't learn in school any more. He was able to diagnose his own difficulties but he wasn't able to give up his video games. Parents need to be aware of the effect that TV and video games can have on their children's sleep patterns and limit the time given to these activities.

In Cycles or Stages of Sleep, some aspects of how learning is affected by sleep were mentioned. So far, study of sleep and learning has shown that procedural or motor memory needs sleep, especially stage 2 sleep. This is the type of memory that is involved in mastering a video game, a dance or a melody on the piano. Learning of landmarks or facial features of friends, called implicit memory is also affected by stage 2 sleep.

There is also scientific evidence for declarative memory needing sleep to function correctly. This is the type of memory used in memorizing passages or finding word-pair associates. Early night sleep which is rich in deep, stage 3 and 4 sleep supports this type of memory.

Sudden insight is a form of complex cognitive learning. James Watson, the discoverer of the double helix of DNA, tells of how sleep helped him put together the knowledge that colleagues were reminding him about and figure out the formation of the double helix. Even though he spent a day cutting out models to help him, it was only after a night of sleep that he was able to get the insight he needed for his discovery. This is an example of creativity being affected by sleep.

Creative people sometimes say they get ideas from their dreams. It seems that the brain continues to work on problems that were being thought through during waking hours and solutions are advanced or solved by sleep and dreams.

When studying for exams, take note of the studies of Dr. Robert Stickgold, a psychiatrist at Harvard Medical School. He demonstrates that our memory of newly learned stuff improves only after sleeping at least six hours. In the first couple of hours, the information gathered during the day is taken from the area of the brain where it was temporarily stored and moved to the area of long term memory. Here it is sorted and stored over the next two hours. Finally, the brain goes over all the information, strengthening the connections between different parts of the information so we can retrieve it later. Both REM and nonREM deep sleep are needed for this process. For exams then, study and sleep for optimum performance - don't cram all night.

As more studies are done, I'm confident that more connections between sleep and learning will be discovered.

Behaviour problems will influence a child's performance in school. I think a lot of behaviour problems in children can be cured by sleep. Weariness can mimic the symptoms of ADD. If your child is diagnosed with ADD, ask that he or she be tested for sleep problems also. Sometimes there is a misdiagnosis and sometimes there is a sleep problem in addition to ADD.

TV and video games can stimulate children so that they have difficulty falling asleep. Make sure they have at least an hour between these activities and bedtime so their healthy sleep will not be disrupted.

Also, sleep deprivation may produce effects in the brain that resemble those associated with aging - memory loss and mental deterioration. Ugh! You don't want this to happen, so try to get enough sleep and remain mentally alert. You will be focused and interested, able to perform well and make sound decisions.

Use the suggestions given in this course and in other sources to sleep well and live a life full of interesting learning, creativity, productivity and vitality.

Notes:

If you google Dr. Robert Stickgold, you will get information on fascinating studies. Not all scientists agree on what is happening while we sleep or during dreams so keep an open mind while more study is done.

An interesting site for students: Sleep and Learning

Contents

Lesson 10: Sleep and Learning

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