Sleep deprivations has been used to test the importance of sleep for memory and learning. It is difficult to interpret because of side effects, such
Sleep deprivations has been used to test the importance of sleep for memory and learning. It is difficult to interpret because of side effects, such as fatigue and reduced alertness.
A study conducted on sleep-deprived patients by circumventing these complications by allowing recovery sleep by Harvard Medical school researches. Subjects who were sleep deprived on the first day showed no improvement in task performance but those who were allowed to sleep showed a substantial improvement. This type of sleep is required for memory consolidation.There are two types of sleep, slow wave sleep that predominates early and REM or Rapid Eye Movement, which occurs late in the night.
The Researches found that slow wave sleep was sufficient for task learning, but both types are required for maximum increase in performance. It shows it need initial period of slow wave sleep followed by REM.
