Rest Your Mind: Relaxation Helps Learning In The Future

In spite of the hustle and bustle of school or the work environment, scientists reiterate the importance of taking time out to relax and reflect for full mental capacity.

Based on recent findings published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), they discovered that certain brain mechanisms triggered during mental stress and reflection can boost learning later.

"We've shown for the first time that how the brain processes information during rest can improve future learning," said lead study author Alison Preston, an associate professor of psychology and neuroscience, in a news release. "We think replaying memories during rest makes those earlier memories stronger, not just impacting the original content, but impacting the memories to come."

For the study, researchers had participants perform two learning tasks in which they were asked to memorize a different series of associated photo pairs. Then, they rested and were asked to think about anything they chose in between the memory tests.

Brain scans showed that participants who used their free time to reflect and take a break scored higher on certain tests. Furthermore, they found that this was particularly true when there was overlap for information of different tests.

"Nothing happens in isolation," concluded Preston. "When you are learning something new, you bring to mind all of the things you know that are related to that new information. In doing so, you embed the new information into your existing knowledge."