Time for a nap?
More research seems to appear daily detailing the relationship between a good night's sleep and successful learning. Sleep seems to help one remember, especially recently learned skills. Some researchers claim that sleep helps the brain "reprocess newly learned information" which in turn helps make those memories "stick" in the brain.
One preeminent sleep researcher, Dr. Stickgold, has demonstrated that one's memory of newly learned information will only improve after sleeping at least six hours. Not only do those all-nighters not work, but video game enthusiasts should take note: play too long and you'll forget where you are!
But how best to inform our students of what we as teachers (adults) know all too well?
Dr. George Johnson is a college professor who writes a column for the St. Louis Post Dispatch newspaper. In one of his articles ("Pulling an all-nighter doesn't work because learning requires a good night's sleep") he summarizes the research that focuses on the role sleep has in the process of successful learning. He references Stickgold's work where he showed that the brain needs sleep time in order to properly process new information so that it might be recalled later. Three hours of sleep is not enough. Five hours is not enough. A minimum of six, and preferably eight, was required to successfully learn something new.
Perhaps the best way to convince students of the merits of a good night's sleep is to share with them the results of a study recently completed by the Stanford Sleep Disorders Clinic. Their research followed six Stanford basketball players during their 2006 season. For two weeks the student/athletes followed their usual sleep patters. Then, for six weeks they were told to sleep as much as they could and try to get as many as ten hours of sleep every night. The results?
- Sprint times improved (16.3 compared with 15.3 on a 282-foot sprint)
- Free throws improved (from 7.9% to 8.8%)
- Three-point baskets improved ((from 61% to 73%)
When students complain that they just don't have enough time to get those hours of sleep, you might suggest a nap. A recent study by Professor Avi Karni and Dr. Maria Korman of the Center for Brain and Behavior Research found that daytime sleep improves memory consolidation. A ninety minute nap will help you remember! The bottom line: "if you need to memorize something quickly or if your schedule is filled with different activities which require learning "how" to do things, it is worth finding the time for an afternoon nap."
For educators wishing more information about learning and sleep, we suggest you take a look at How the Brain Learns by David A. Sousa. In his section on "The Importance of Sleep in Learning and Memory" he notes that when "we sleep, the brain reviews the events and tasks of the day, sorting them more securely than at the time we originally processed them." He goes on to say that "adequate sleep is vital to the memory storage process, especially for young learning."
This book is an excellent resource for educators. One reviewer stated that it's "easily adapted to classroom use no matter what level is being taught. This book would lend itself well as a resource for inservicing teachers with its many practitioner's corner activities. Every teacher will find easily adapted activities to put to immediate use."
Another reviewer noted that each chapter concluded with a "Practitioner's Corner" where Dr. Sousa describes methods of applying this information in the classroom. Most of these are quite clever and very practical. This book should be on the reading list of all teachers, would-be teachers, and parents."
The Advantage Press, Inc. publishes a number of behavior packets that can help educators successfully manage student behavior. You are welcome to try our free samples.