Lack of sleep undermines the rejuvenating
effects of new learning on the brain, according to a study
in rats.
According to researchers at the University of California
and Stanford University, learning spatial tasks -- such
as finding your way to a new destination -- helps the
brain produce new brain cells in an area of the brain
called the hippocampus.
Sleep can help those new brain cells survive, the researchers
added.
But their study in rats suggests that a lack of sleep
impairs spatial learning. Compared to well-rested rats,
sleep-restricted rats had a harder time remembering a
newly learned route through a maze. The sleep-restricted
rats also displayed lower rates of survival for new hippocampus
cells.
The findings appear in the Journal of Neurophysiology.
Overall, the study demonstrated that learning depends
on two factors: exposure to new material and adequate
sleep.
"Mild, chronic sleep restriction may have long-term
deleterious effects on neural functioning," the study
authors wrote.
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