Tired? Take a nap
Mar. 25, 2008 by Lisa Currie
From Scientific American…
Sleep is such a fundamental biological drive that it’s shared by practically every species, from fruit flies to humans. Indeed, sleep is so essential that animals will die as quickly from sleep deprivation as they will from food deprivation. And yet despite such alarming evidence (not to mention all the things your mother told you about the importance of sleep), human beings are one of the few species that deliberately deprive themselves of sleep. Why do we do this?
Most would blame the frantic pace of modern life: we live in a 24/7 world, fuelled by ever-present deadlines, demands and responsibilities. With so much to do and so little time, it seems tempting, or perhaps even necessary, to shave off a few hours of sleep in order to get things done. Given this chronic shortage of shuteye, wouldn’t it be wonderful if a quick nap could refresh us mentally and improve our memories? Results from a recent study by Lahl et al. (2008) suggest that a mere six-minute nap may be able do just that.
Before discussing this intriguing finding, some background is in order. The past decade has witnessed a boom in reports demonstrating that sleep after learning is critical for the offline “consolidation” of memories. The process is what allows the brain to convert newly learned information into long-term storage in the brain. Sleep has been shown to promote consolidation of various kinds of memory, from procedural skills (for example, learning to play a musical instrument or mastering a sport), to episodic memories (such as remembering facts and experiences learned during the day).
These benefits were initially thought to require a full night of sleep, but more recent studies suggest that, for episodic memories, a 60-to 90-minute nap may generate the same memory benefits in much less time. Until the study by Lahl et al., however, many scientists would have been skeptical about the efficacy of a nap that was any shorter. In part, this skepticism is because the biological mechanisms believed to be necessary for cementing long-term memories – particularly the synthesis of new proteins needed to strengthen synaptic connections – takes at least this long. Nonetheless, there are many anecdotal accounts describing the cognitive benefits of ultra-short “power naps.” The study by Lahl et al. provides the first empirical support for such a claim.
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