A Good Nights Sleep - A long life of learning and memory

Do you get a good night’s sleep? My last blog was on nutrition, brain and learning, and my breakfast recipe. This blog will still feature learning, but more specifically the effects of sleep, or sleep deprivation – on learning and memory. It features research done on student’s ability to focus, pay attention in class, study and get better test results and how sleep affects all these.

So, what time did you sleep last night?  Or perhaps, only after midnight - today. And of course, did you sleep well, and what time did you wake up. In doing a survey among my students – it’s very mixed – but the majority get less than the recommended 7 – 8 hours that sleep researchers recommend! When I discuss the benefits  of 7 – 8 hours of sleep, on their ability to study, focus and recall, especially before exams – the ‘wake up’!

From my recent book on the ‘Leadership Brain’, in my final chapter, the ‘Learning Leader’, I outline some of the research on sleep and learning.

Learning Principle:  Sleep Well, Learn Well.

The brain itself doesn’t sleep, but the brain works differently, yet still hard, while we sleep. Those who get around 8 hrs ± per night  have been found to  out perform others on cognitive tests (including exams) by 3 to 1, especially procedural tasks. During sleep we process much of our memories, 

consolidating what we learned that day. Loss of sleep interferes with attention, judgment, working memory, logical reasoning, movement dexterity and even mood. In fact, we need to sleep in order to learn.

Sleep loss means mind loss or brain drain! Sleep deprivation also weakens our immune system, and over many years, our brains are more likely to succumb to dementia (memory loss). You hear people say “I’m getting old, so I’m losing my memory,” but this need not be so, as there are many 80 and 90 year olds who still have excellent memory. They should say, “I’ll get enough sleep so my memory will be good”.

So maybe now, I can persuade you, especially if you are a student, to get enough sleep. As we age, we may feel we can do with less sleep, but if we believe in life long learning – a strong immune system, and preventing dementia, your sleep is your investment in brain longevity.

Personally, I work backwards. If I have to get up for example, at 7.00am, then I try to hit the pillow by 11pm, so as to get my 8 hours of sleep. I awake refreshed and do not feel tired in the middle of the afternoon. Of course, what we eat and how much we exercise, are other factors. So for my next blog, we will explore the benefits of exercise, on the brain and learning.