To Boost Memory, Go to Sleep

8 hours of shut-eye helps brain function the next day, study suggests

(NEWSER) - Nothing improves memory like a little shut-eye, a new study suggests. Researchers taught new information and skills to two groups of patients, and allowed one to sleep normally while giving the other none or only a nap. The sleepers tested better the next day–and scans revealed enhanced brain activity to match that performance. More»

Brain needs deep sleep to decide what to retain

(NEWSER) - Interrupted sleep can have adverse effects on our memories, a study suggests—a theory that could help explain memory troubles among sleep apnea and Alzheimer’s patients. Researchers disrupted sleep in mice using specialized light techniques, the BBC reports, and the mice later had more trouble recognizing objects that should have been familiar. The mice spent just as long studying objects they’d seen before as they spent investigating new objects, pointing to a memory problem. More»

Better-slept people look healthier, more attractive

(NEWSER) - The notion of “beauty sleep” is no myth: people who get more sleep are more attractive, new research suggests. A researcher in Sweden took mid-afternoon photos of 23 people between the ages of 18 and 31; some had gotten plenty of sleep the previous night, while others hadn’t slept for 31 hours and had only gotten five hours the night before that, Time reports. More»

Sleep hard on Sunday, and you'll feel better on Monday

(NEWSER) - Sleeping in on Saturday or Sunday could boost your energy and productivity on Monday, according to a new study. Just one extended snooze—think 10 hours or more—can help the brain recover from a week of not sleeping enough, a University of Pennsylvania researcher tells the Daily Telegraph . “The bottom line is that adequate recovery is important for coping with the effects of chronic sleep restriction,” he says. More»

(NEWSER) - Think you can get by just fine on 6 hours of sleep a night? Unless you're part of a tiny portion of the population with a mutant gene, you better tuck yourself in a little earlier, reports USA Today. A new study in Science says 97% of the population needs about 8 hours a night to function at top form. The rest—and their numbers are ever dwindling—have a genetic mutation that blesses them with deep sleep and the need for less of it. More»