Intuitively we realize how valuable sleep is in our lives, but its chief purpose has eluded researchers since sleep studies began decades ago. A new study goes a long way toward proving that sleep is our brain's built-in learning platform. (click below to read more)
The study, conducted by Israeli scientists, has found the strongest evidence yet that people can learn new information while they are sleeping, rather than just strengthen existing memories. Researchers played tones to sleeping volunteers before wafting smells of deodorant, shampoo, rotten fish or dead animals past their noses. The smells triggered a sniffing reflex; the more pleasant the odors, the more vigorous the sniffing.
When the tones were played without the odors, the volunteers still sniffed, but they sniffed more strongly to tones that had been paired with nice odors. This conditioned response lasted all night and into the next morning when the volunteers woke up, though none of them were consciously aware of what they had learned while they slept.
Anat Arzi, et al., "Humans can learn new information during sleep," Nature Neuroscience (Aug. 26)
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