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Thursday
Dec072006

Before an Exam: Get a Good Night's Rest

We've all heard this before. Now there's some good evidence to back it up over at Science Daily:

Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research in Heidelberg have been investigating how memories might be consolidated. Their new study offers the hitherto strongest proof that new information is transferred between the hippocampus, the short term memory area, and the cerebral cortex during sleep.

This states that fresh impressions are first stored as short-term memories in the hippocampus. They are then said to move within hours or a few days - usually during deep sleep - into the cerebral cortex where they enter long-term memory.

What I typically do is, I'll study the night before an exam, "sleep on it" for a few hours, and then cram again the morning of. Now there's science to back me up!

But, hmmm. I wonder why it is, then, that I still have trouble remembering my dreams... Any guesses?

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Reader Comments (1)

[...] I’ve always been told to get a good night’s rest and to start my day off with a good, balanced breakfast. However, over at Psychology Today, new research may support the idea that an empty stomach might actually enhance short-term learning: Hunger Feeds the Brain [...]

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