The Influence of Sleep on Memory and Its Components Sleep is one of the most important functions that any human or animal can perform on a daily basis. While sleeping, our bodies may be at rest, but our mind is still actively processing all of the events and information that we encoded into our minds in our time spent being awake. Without sleep, the body cannot function, physically or mentally, as it would if we were to be properly rested. The amount of rest an individual receives can influence their daily activities in either a positive or a negative way (Born & Rasch, 2013). Memory is one of the most important factors that is influenced by how much sleep we receive. Having a well rested mind will help us store and maintain memories
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While sleeping, your mind is still unconsciously processing information, and the body is resting and saving up energy that can be used later on. Sleeping also gives the chance for your mind to consolidate memories that have been made. When memories are consolidated, they are stabilized and stored within the mind so that they can be accessed later on. Resting the mind after retaining learned information can postpone retroactive interference and help consolidate the information learned (Born & Rasch, 2013). The mind can consolidate memories whether someone is sleeping or not, but memories are enhanced much more efficiently while the mind is at rest. Memories are consolidated better during this time, and the chance of memory deterioration is much less likely during sleep. Sleep may stabilize memories, but it does not improve the overall ability to learn. Improvement has been seen throughout procedural learning, but only because these concepts can be visualized through episodic memory (Stickgold, …show more content…
Studies show that a full night of sleep can enhance motor memory, and that declarative information can be recalled through a half of a night of slow wave sleep (Tucker & Fishbein, 2009). When memories are dependent on the hippocampus, they are benefited the most by deep, slow wave sleep. This stage of sleep allows retained information to be processed peacefully without interference. When emotional information is retained, it depends more on the amygdala during rapid eye movement sleep. Emotional information strongly influences the dreams that we will have while sleeping. Recently retained information is reactivated and replayed within these dreams to give us an overall meaning of our experiences (Wamsley & Stickgold, 2011). Memory formation in general can be strongly influenced by our emotions, and the way we feel determines how this information is processed within the amygdala. If someone is retaining emotional information, they are going to remember it much better because their emotions give it much more value than neutral information (Walker & van der Helm,
While sleeping, your mind is still unconsciously processing information, and the body is resting and saving up energy that can be used later on. Sleeping also gives the chance for your mind to consolidate memories that have been made. When memories are consolidated, they are stabilized and stored within the mind so that they can be accessed later on. Resting the mind after retaining learned information can postpone retroactive interference and help consolidate the information learned (Born & Rasch, 2013). The mind can consolidate memories whether someone is sleeping or not, but memories are enhanced much more efficiently while the mind is at rest. Memories are consolidated better during this time, and the chance of memory deterioration is much less likely during sleep. Sleep may stabilize memories, but it does not improve the overall ability to learn. Improvement has been seen throughout procedural learning, but only because these concepts can be visualized through episodic memory (Stickgold, …show more content…
Studies show that a full night of sleep can enhance motor memory, and that declarative information can be recalled through a half of a night of slow wave sleep (Tucker & Fishbein, 2009). When memories are dependent on the hippocampus, they are benefited the most by deep, slow wave sleep. This stage of sleep allows retained information to be processed peacefully without interference. When emotional information is retained, it depends more on the amygdala during rapid eye movement sleep. Emotional information strongly influences the dreams that we will have while sleeping. Recently retained information is reactivated and replayed within these dreams to give us an overall meaning of our experiences (Wamsley & Stickgold, 2011). Memory formation in general can be strongly influenced by our emotions, and the way we feel determines how this information is processed within the amygdala. If someone is retaining emotional information, they are going to remember it much better because their emotions give it much more value than neutral information (Walker & van der Helm,