14 DAY TRIAL // Short naps lasting between 45 to 60 minutes have a positive impact on the human brain in that they improve memory performance to a considerable extent, researchers argue in a new study in the science journal Neurobiology of Learning and Memory.
In a series of experiments, scientist Axel Mecklinger at Germany's Saarland University and colleagues found that, following a power nap, a group of volunteers found it easier to remember single words and word pairs, Science Daily explains.
This happened despite the fact that the word pairs the study participants were asked to memorize were rather nonsensical, eg. milk-taxi. By comparison, volunteers who watched a DVD instead of napping had trouble recalling the learned information.
“A short nap at the office or in school is enough to significantly improve learning success. Wherever people are in a learning environment, we should think seriously about the positive effects of sleep,” the researchers say.
The investigation carried out by this team of scientists in Germany revealed that a 45 to 60-minute nap is more than enough to boost people's ability to remember specific information about 5 times over.
It is believed that napping improves memory by allowing the human brain to process newly acquired information and transfer it into long-term storage. Once there, the information becomes easy to access and retrieve.
Evidence at hand indicates that this transfer occurs with the help of a specific brain region known as the hippocampus. Thus, it appears that, the better a person's memory is, the more activity is recorded in their hippocampus.