Health & Medicine
Here's Why Sleeping Now Will Help Your Future Memories
Kathleen Lees
First Posted: Jan 23, 2015 06:30 PM EST
Are you getting enough rest? A new study conducted by researchers at the Baylor University Sleep Neuroscience and Cognition Laboratory found that getting good sleep when you're young can help you keep your memory in shape for later.
"It's the difference between investing up front rather than trying to compensate later," said study author Michael K. Scullin of the Baylor University Sleep Neuroscience and Cognition Laboratory, in a news release.
For the study, researchers investigated close to 200 different studies dating back to the late ‘60s that looked at the link between sleep and brain function and addressed things such as sleep deprivation, interventions and naps. Furthermore, it categorized subjects in different groups, including young (18-29), middle-aged (30-60) and older (60 and up), respectively.
Findings revealed how getting adequate rest benefited middle-aged and older patients, greatly. Furthermore, researchers also found that by middle age, many are more apt to take naps during the day, which helps protect the brain from decline, so long as naps are not used to make up for sleep at nighttime.
When participants received good rest as young people researchers found that the slow-brain-wave state of deep sleep helped them better store and process memories, that could later be called on.
"We came across studies that showed that sleeping well in middle age predicted better mental functioning 28 years later," Scullin said. "People sometimes disparage sleep as 'lost time,' but even if the link between sleep and memory lessens with age, sleeping well still is linked to better mental health, improved cardiovascular health and fewer, less severe disorders and diseases of many kinds."
More information regarding the findings can be seen via the journal Perspectives on Psychological Science.
For more great nature science stories and general news, please visit our sister site, Headlines and Global News (HNGN).
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First Posted: Jan 23, 2015 06:30 PM EST
Are you getting enough rest? A new study conducted by researchers at the Baylor University Sleep Neuroscience and Cognition Laboratory found that getting good sleep when you're young can help you keep your memory in shape for later.
"It's the difference between investing up front rather than trying to compensate later," said study author Michael K. Scullin of the Baylor University Sleep Neuroscience and Cognition Laboratory, in a news release.
For the study, researchers investigated close to 200 different studies dating back to the late ‘60s that looked at the link between sleep and brain function and addressed things such as sleep deprivation, interventions and naps. Furthermore, it categorized subjects in different groups, including young (18-29), middle-aged (30-60) and older (60 and up), respectively.
Findings revealed how getting adequate rest benefited middle-aged and older patients, greatly. Furthermore, researchers also found that by middle age, many are more apt to take naps during the day, which helps protect the brain from decline, so long as naps are not used to make up for sleep at nighttime.
When participants received good rest as young people researchers found that the slow-brain-wave state of deep sleep helped them better store and process memories, that could later be called on.
"We came across studies that showed that sleeping well in middle age predicted better mental functioning 28 years later," Scullin said. "People sometimes disparage sleep as 'lost time,' but even if the link between sleep and memory lessens with age, sleeping well still is linked to better mental health, improved cardiovascular health and fewer, less severe disorders and diseases of many kinds."
More information regarding the findings can be seen via the journal Perspectives on Psychological Science.
For more great nature science stories and general news, please visit our sister site, Headlines and Global News (HNGN).
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone