{"id":28410,"date":"2018-08-29T07:00:01","date_gmt":"2018-08-29T11:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/restonic.com\/sin-categorizar\/how-sleep-helps-your-brain-3483"},"modified":"2023-09-08T10:47:31","modified_gmt":"2023-09-08T14:47:31","slug":"how-sleep-helps-your-brain-3483","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/restonic.com\/es\/blog-es\/how-sleep-helps-your-brain-3483","title":{"rendered":"Thanks for The Memories\u2014How Sleep Helps Your Brain"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"ThanksWithout adequate sleep, your brain misfires, wreaking havoc with your ability to retain new information and form memories<\/h2>\n

Whether you\u2019re trying to keep track of all the birthday dates in your family calendar, or studying for an exam, sleep plays a starring role in the formation of memories. Being shortchanged on rest, even by a few hours, can impact the way your brain processes information and memories.<\/p>\n

Stay sharp and get enough rest. That\u2019s the bottom line, according to researchers who are delving deeper into the biology of sleep<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Protein\u2019s role in memory formation<\/h2>\n

Jennifer Choi Tudor is a neuroscientist in the field of sleep at Saint Joseph University in Philadelphia, PA. She\u2019s been studying the way sleep deficits affect a person’s ability to form memories, learn new things, etc. She has identified the importance of 4E binding protein 2 (4EBP2).<\/p>\n

\u201cSleep deprivation can lead to a whole host of issues,\u201d Tudor explains. \u201cIt can affect metabolism, the processing of waste and gene expression. But of particular importance, sleep deprivation impairs the critical process to make the necessary proteins to form memories, also known as translation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tudor looked at the brain function of both sleep-deprived and well-rested lab mice and discovered that just five hours of extended wakefulness resulted in significant memory deficits. That\u2019s the equivalent of someone who usually goes to bed around 11 p.m. staying up until 3 a.m., she explains.<\/p>\n

When her research team was able to increase the level of 4EBP2, they were able to prevent memory deficits<\/a>. In the future, scientists can look at whether boosting the amount of this protein in Alzheimer\u2019s patients (who already have memory deficiencies) can help improve brain function.<\/p>\n

While you were sleeping…<\/h2>\n

Though you might be off in la-la land and dreaming contentedly, your brain is hard at work. Studies by the University of York show memories are better remembered after sleep than wakefulness. Recently acquired information is thought \"Thanksto be ‘reactivated’ and strengthened in the sleeping brain. Scientists have successfully demonstrated a brain activity pattern that supports this reactivation process. Short spikes of activity in the brain during sleep (also called sleep bindles) are enhanced when memories are reactivated.<\/p>\n

Sleep research\u00a0<\/a>is integral for understanding how the brain retains and processes information\u2014but there\u2019s a lot of research needed yet. From animal studies, we do know that the brain replays previous experiences while we sleep, strengthening them into memories during slow-wave sleep (the deep sleep phase) and REM time.<\/p>\n

Understanding the healthy benefits of sleep opens the door to turbocharge our memory retention abilities and to learn more effectively. One scientist explained it by saying that when you\u2019re awake, you learn new things. But when you\u2019re asleep you refine them, making it easier to retrieve them and apply them correctly when you need them the most. This is important for how we learn but also for how we might help retain healthy brain functions as we age.<\/p>\n

Reading or studying before bed may help you retain more information<\/h2>\n

The caveat is that your sleep following the studying or reading needs to be good quality. Studies at the University of Zurich<\/a> looked at how a disturbed sleep phase disrupts the brain\u2019s ability to learn things. During the day, we\u2019re bombarded by stimuli, everything from conversations around us to music playing in restaurants. At night, the brain needs some down time to normalize. When the brain synapses remain in an excited state (as they are during the day), that restoration doesn\u2019t happen, inhibiting neuroplasticity and preventing the ability to process and retain new information.<\/p>\n

Top tips on how to learn as you sleep<\/h2>\n

Putting a book under your pillow is not going to make you smarter<\/a>, but there are things you can do to help your brain absorb information. Here\u2019s a hint: sound is key!<\/p>\n