Scientists now know that while we snooze, our brains help solidify the memories we made during the day. In this Special Feature, we investigate whether simple techniques might help improve memory retention during the night.
It is almost too obvious to repeat, but the brain is an immensely complex organ. Billions of cells form trillions of connections, all communicating via drips, ripples, and waves of neurotransmitters, hormones, electrical impulses, and other signaling molecules.
Getting a clear sense of what happens inside the brain, why it happens, and its importance to the human experience are monumental challenges.
Despite the odds, neuroscientists continue to forge ahead. And they have made incredible progress over recent decades. Some of these brave souls investigate a particularly difficult-to-study topic: sleep.
Although every human who has ever lived on Earth has experienced this phenomenon, sleep is still shrouded in a duvet of mystery. We do not understand the full story, but it is now clear that one of sleep’s roles is to solidify, or consolidate memories.
In this Special Feature, we explore practices that might help us improve our memory skills.
But before we delve into experimental memory-enhancing techniques, we will briefly outline how memory consolidation works during sleep.
Scientists
When you first learn something during the day, your brain lays down a “memory trace.” Initially, this trace is particularly susceptible to disturbances. In other words, it is easy to forget.
Then, during sleep, this memory is consolidated — the memory trace is stabilized.
On a cellular level, memories are formed by changing the strength of synaptic connections in a network that represents a memory. During sleep, synapses — the connections between brain cells — are remodelled, producing permanent changes…
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