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(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Ever feel like you think more clearly after a good nights sleep?
Chances are, you arent just imagining it, report Harvard Medical School researchers. In a new study, people were tested to see how well they remembered word pairs after being awake all day and after a good nights sleep. Those who get a good night's sleep had significantly higher scores than those who were awake all day.
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The finding was most pronounced when people were asked to remember the original list of word pairs just after being presented a new list in which the first word in each pair was the same, but the second one was different. The researchers believe this shows sleep not only improves memory, but also helps protect memories from competing information or interference.
The research involved 48 healthy people between the ages of 18 and 30 who were divided into four groups: two groups were presented with word pairs at 9 a.m. and then tested at 9 p.m., with one of the groups also receiving the new list of word pairs immediately before the testing. The other two groups followed the same pattern, but were presented with the list first at 9 p.m. and then tested at 9 a.m. after a full nights sleep.
The sleep group tested without the competing word list performed 12-percent better than the wake group tested without the interference. The sleep group tested after the interference scored 44 percent better than the wake group tested after the competing list was presented.
These results provide important insights into how the sleeping brain interacts with memories, study author Jeffrey Ellenbogen, M.D. was quoted as saying. It appears to strengthen them.
The finding suggests sleep disorders may play a role in worsening the memory problems seen in people with dementia.
This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, which offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, click on: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.
SOURCE: Presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 59th Annual Meeting in Boston, April 28-May 5, 2007
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