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Naps may boost memory
If you want to remember the information in this article, take a nap.
New research conducted by brain researcher Avi Karni of the University of Haifa in Israel explores the possibility that naps help lock in sometimes fleeting long-term memories. A 90-minute daytime snooze might help the most, the study finds.
"We still don't know the exact mechanism of the memory process that occurs during sleep, but the results of this research suggest it is possible to speed up memory consolidation," Karni said.
Long-term memory refers to memories that stay with us for years, such as "what" memories — a car accident that happened yesterday — or "how to" memories, such as one's learned ability to play the drums.
Karni, who co-authored the study in a recent issue of the journal Nature Neuroscience, instructed participants to learn a complex thumb-tapping sequence, then split the study subjects into two groups: one that napped for an hour, and one that didn't. The people who took an afternoon snooze showed sizeable improvement in their performance by that evening.
"After a night's sleep the two groups were at the same level, but the group that slept in the afternoon improved much faster than the group that stayed awake," Karni said.
And the study also showed just how much faster a 90-minute nap could help lock in long-term memories.
"Daytime sleep can shorten the time 'how to' memory becomes immune to interference and forgetting," Karni said. "Instead of 6 to 8 hours, the brain consolidated the memory during the 90-minute nap."
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以色列海法大学脑部研究专家阿维•卡尼针开展的一项最新研究探讨了白天小睡有助于巩固长期记忆的可能性问题。研究发现，白天小睡90分钟对巩固记忆最有效。
卡尼说：“目前，我们还不清楚睡眠过程中记忆加工的具体机制，但研究结果表明白天小睡能够加速记忆的巩固。”
长期记忆指的是能够保存多年的记忆，比如“陈述性记忆”，记住昨天发生的一场车祸就属于“陈述性记忆”，以及“程序性记忆”，比如学会如何打鼓。
由卡尼等几名研究人员共同撰写的研究报告在最新一期《自然神经学》期刊上发表。在该研究中，卡尼首先教研究对象学一套复杂的拇指操，然后将他们分为两组：一组小睡一小时，另一组不睡。结果发现，午睡小组在当晚的表现有明显的进步。
卡尼说：“而在经过一夜的睡眠之后，两组研究对象的水平相当，但午睡小组要比未午睡小组的进步快得多。”
此外，研究还发现了90分钟的午睡能使记忆巩固的过程提速多长时间。
卡尼说：“午睡能够使‘程序性记忆’在较短时间内克服干扰及遗忘。不用睡六至八个小时，只需90分钟，大脑就可巩固记忆。”
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