![\"juggling\"](\"http:\/\/web.colby.edu\/cogblog\/files\/2014\/11\/juggling.jpg\")
<\/p>\nThere\u2019s no doubt that a large percentage of college students are sleep-deprived. When you have an exam to study for, a paper to write, two quizzes to study for the next day, you\u2019re going to stay up late. You\u2019ll sleep at 2:00 A.M. the earliest. 3:00 A.M. if you\u2019re pushing it. Sleep is probably the last thing on your mind, but also the first thing your body wants and needs. It\u2019s hard to go to sleep knowing you have these assignments to finish for the next day, but a quick nap might just be the rest you need!<\/p>\n
We spend one-third of our lives sleeping (or at least attempting to fall asleep). There are five stages of sleep: stage 1, 2, 3, 4 and rapid eye movement (REM). Stage 1-4 sleep is called non-rapid eye movement (NREM). We won\u2019t talk much about the differences in these sleep stages, but it\u2019s said that the more hours of sleep one gets, the more REM sleep one gets. REM sleep is when most dreams occur during sleep. If we don\u2019t get enough sleep, level of concentration and attention decreases, memory systems don\u2019t work as efficiently, and motor and cognitive functions are negatively affected.<\/p>\n
At Waseda University in central Tokyo, Japan, Morita et al. investigated the effects of a daytime nap on learning motor skills. They had all the participants learn how to juggle with three balls by following a training video. Then, half of the participants didn\u2019t do anything and the other half took a 2-hour long nap. After this nap, all the participants were told to juggle again. They were looking at how juggling performance changed within the group and whether there was any difference in performance between the group that took the nap and the group that didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
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The nap group\u2019s performance in juggling exceeded the performance of the group that didn\u2019t take a nap. In general, sleep is always beneficial to the body, the mind, and the two functioning together. In this study, the nap provided the participants time to remember the motions of the three ball juggling. This was a test of procedural memory. When first learning how to do a certain activity, it is a very controlled process. The act of learning is a procedure and usually takes time. However, the more practice one gets, the more the activity becomes an automatic process from a controlled process. With the help of a nap, it solidified these memory traces of juggling in the mind. Also, the nap allowed for attention to be focused. Memory and attention, in this case, come hand in hand because things that are attended to and are processed for meaning usually stick in your mind.<\/p>\n
The results of this study can also be applied to learning a new play or a move in sports. When practicing a new play, it takes a few rounds for people to start getting it. Then, it becomes a relatively automatic move after days of practice because the specific memory traces are being revisited over and over again. But, the move isn\u2019t practiced for hours on end. Between practices, you do homework, have meals, talk to people, and sleep! Sleep is really what helps in consolidating the memories of what you learn in the classroom, what you learn on the field, and what you learn about people.<\/p>\n
So, when you\u2019re thinking of learning to do something new, don\u2019t spend all night practicing. It won\u2019t help at all. Start practicing, take a nap, and go back to it! If it doesn\u2019t work, well, at least you got to sleep for a bit!<\/p>\n
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To read the original paper, click here<\/a>:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n References:<\/p>\n Morita, Y., Ogawa, K., Uchida, S. (2012). The effect of a daytime 2-hour nap on complex motor skill learning. Sleep and Biological Rhythms<\/em>, 10,<\/em> 302-309<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Sleep, Sleep Disorders, and Biological Rhythms. (n.d.). Retrieved November 19, 2014, from https:\/\/science.education.nih.gov\/supplements\/nih3\/sleep\/guide\/info-sleep.htm<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n