Want to Have a Better Memory? Take 45-Minute Naps Regularly

If you struggling to remember something, the best thing to do is to just take a quick, 45-minute nap. Power naps positively influence memory recall, according to a new study by Saarland University in Germany.

The study, which was coordinated by graduate research student Sara Studte, involved examination of memory recall in 41 participants. The volunteers had to learn single words and word pairs. Once the learning phase was over, the participants were tested to determine how much information they could remember. About half of the participants were then allowed to sleep, while the others watched a DVD.

After that, the participants were re-tested and those who had taken a nap were shown to have retained substantially more word pairs in memory than the participants in the control group who had watched a DVD. The results of the study have been published in the respected academic journal Neurobiology of Learning and Memory.

Saarland University graduate student Sara Studte explains, "We examined a particular type of brain activity, known as 'sleep spindles,' that plays an important role in memory consolidation during sleep." She goes on to say, "A sleep spindle is a short burst of rapid oscillations in the electroencephalogram (EEG). We suspect certain types of memory content, particularly information that was previously tagged, is preferentially consolidated during this type of brain activity."

Study leader Professor Alex Mecklinger also comments, "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."