The Importance of Sleep In Learning Flashcards
To understand how sleeping accentuates the learning process
What creates toxins in the brain?
Being awake
How does the brain get rid of toxins in the brain?
During sleep, brain cells shrink producing more space between toxins and cells. Fluid can then wash the toxins free and out of the brain
What do toxins do to the process of thinking/learning?
metabolic toxins actually block neural pathways reducing the brain’s ability to learn, retrieve and think
What is a good analogy for trying to process with toxins?
Trying to drive a car with sugar in the gas tank
What other conditions are associated with getting too little sleep over time?
- headaches 2. depression 3. heart disease 4. early death
How is sleep an important part of the learning process itself?
“Tidies” up ideas and concepts that you were processing during the day
How does the sleep “tidy up” the brain?
- Erases less important parts of memories
- Strengthes areas you need or want to remember
- Rehearses some of the tougher parts of whatever you were trying to learn: going over and over the neural patterns to deepen and strengthen them
How does sleep help other areas of the brain start talking more easily with one another
The complete deactivation of the conscious located in the pre-frontal cortex at the forefront of the brain happens during sleep.
What is the benefit of removing metabolic toxins in relationship to learning and thinking?
Makes a remarkable difference in the brain’s ability to figure out difficult problems and to understand what you’re trying to learn.
What happens when the prefrontal cortex is deactivated during sleep?
Conscious thought is deactivated - shut down which allows other areas of the brain to better “talk” to each other.
What is the benefit of areas of the brain “talking” together during sleep or other offline processing?
This is when diffuse thinking/learning happens. The brain is able to put together neural solutions to the learning tasks you were working on prior to sleeping
What 2 strategic actions will enhance the brain’s ability to put together neural solutions to learning tasks during sleep?
- Prime the brain to dream about your learning tasks by reviewing it just prior to going to sleep.
- Prime the brain to dream about learning tasks by actually “telling” the brain you want to dream about your learning tasks
What strategic sleep activity significantly enhances your ability to understand?
Dreaming
How does dreaming enhance the brain’s ability to understand?
It somehow consolidates your memories into easier to understand chunks
What conscious strategies can you do (other than priming to dream) can you do to create easier to understand chunks?
- Chunk logically related information together prior to processing
- Compress understanding into a memory package: mind map, mnemonic
What does “rehearsal” look like?
