Learning light things while sleeping

People can learn new information in their sleep

27/08/2012

Even during sleep man learns. An Israeli research team led by Anat Arzi from the Institute of Neurobiology at the Weizmann Institute of Science has found that simple relationships can be stored while asleep.

Learning while sleeping
It has been known for some time that previously acquired memories are strengthened and processed during sleep, but whether completely new information can be recorded remained unknown, the researchers explain in the journal „Nature Neuroscience“ her current investigation. They therefore tested with a number of volunteers, whether simple connections between certain odors and sounds can be learned while sleeping.

The researchers used for their study an effect they as „non-verbal type of olfactory trial answer“ describe. This subconsciously causes people to sniff more deeply with pleasant smells (inhale through the nose) than with unpleasant odors. In a first step, they presented the subjects during the sleep a combination of certain sounds and smells. The smells ranged from the unpleasant odor of rotting fish to fragrant shampoos.

Combination of sounds and smells learned in your sleep
The study participants breathed in the pleasurable fragrances much lower than the stench of the dead fish. In the second experimental step, the Israeli researchers sounded only the sounds - without a special smell. Surprisingly, the subjects breathed in the tones that were previously associated with a pleasant smell, significantly lower than the tones in conjunction with unpleasant odors. In addition, they "maintained this behavior even when awake", report Anat Arzi and colleagues. Apparently the brain cells for hearing and smell were also awake enough at night to store new connections. The mental link between the smells and sounds was created in the sleep, so the explanation of the Israeli researchers. After waking up, the study participants were unaware of the ongoing learning process.

Complex knowledge can not be stored during sleep
However, the scientists around Anat Arzi are braving the hope that in the future sleep can be used to absorb new knowledge - which would be a desirable learning method not only for learning mollies and lazybones. Although "simple connections, such as the linking of certain sounds and smells, can be learned while asleep, more complex knowledge can probably not be absorbed in this way," the Israeli researchers report in the current article. Learning a foreign language or math while asleep will remain utopian. However, it is clear that people can generally absorb new information while they sleep. (Fp)

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Picture: Helga Gross