As we go through the day we have experiences that get registered in our short-term memory. If you’re a student you’re sitting in a classroom all day long and absorbing information that goes into the short-term memory.
Filing It Away While We Sleep
When we sleep at night our brain takes that information that was gathered over the course of the day and organizes it. It’s like putting it into little file folders in the filing cabinets in our brain-in our long-term memory. Then we can access that information when we need it. It’s how we form memories.
If you don’t get enough sleep you can’t learn. You can’t form memories based upon your current experiences because those never get put away into the filing cabinets in a way you can find them.
If you were ever a student you know that pulling an all-nighter is not the way to learn material and retain it long term. It can destroy your ability to remember things. “Having done it myself, I would see the test and think, ‘I’ve never seen this before in my life,'” said Dr. Kriva.
Good Sleep May Mean Improved Memory
The bottom line is you need to get your 8 hours of sleep a night so that you can learn and retain information from your day-to-day experiences.
Check out Dr. Kriva’s video for more information!
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Sleep Series