Sleep and Memory

I read a blog this morning that was written by a teacher who has been helping a hard-working student who struggles with her mid-term exams. The student does well with daily work, but becomes overwhelmed when tests cover older material. (Cousins, 2010) 

The author laments that in an age when laptop computers are universally available that notes are not allowed in midterm exams. The student mentioned works hard, but in spite of long hours spent studying she is continually stressed by the requirement of recalling details during a test. The author says,  

 

"I wish I could spend my instructional time working on concepts, abstract reasoning and problem-solving. I would much rather explore why a formula works, or how the formula works, or when to use it in real-life applications. Instead, I spend way too much valuable tutoring time training students on mnemonic techniques."  (Cousins, 2010)

 

I don't have this problem. In fact I have noticed I seem to gain better recall of details about six weeks after I have studied a subject than I have when it is fresh in my mind. I have attributed this unusual gift to two things, a tendency to ruminate on new information, and that I get more sleep than many people. I don't allow myself to get less than eight hours of sleep each night, and I make a point of getting extra sleep when I am studying new material.
 

Recently the relationship between sleep and learning has been de-emphasized, and some appear to question its importance, but it is easy to find experts who give it the importance I was always taught to give it. I did a search on "sleep and learning." I found these articles:
 

In October of 2005, Robert Stickgold speaks of the importance to "memory reprocessing during sleep." (Stickgold, 2005)

 

In November of 2006, the oldb.org published an article that covers much more than the value of sleep. It includes numerous techniques for managing one's own ability to retain and recall information. ("Hacking knowledge: 77 Ways to learn faster, deeper, and better")

References

Stickgold, R. (2005). Review Article sleep-dependent memory consolidation. Nature: International weekly journal of science, 437. Abstract retrieved from http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v437/n7063/full/nature04286.html

Cousins, L.P. (2010, January 23). Always learning: Midterm exams and 21st century knowledge [blog]. Retrieved from http://blogs.psychcentral.com/always-learning/2010/01/midterm-exams-and-12st-century-knowledge/

Hacking knowledge: 77 Ways to learn faster, deeper, and better. (2006). Online education database. oedb [blog]. Retrieved from http://oedb.org/library/college-basics/hacking-knowledge