HHS HealthBeat (October 4, 2010)

Sleep Work

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I'm Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

Sleeping on a problem may be a good strategy. One study finds people did better on a task if they dreamed about it.

Erin Wamsley of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center had people learn the layout of a three-dimensional maze on a computer screen so they could figure a way to a place in the maze five hours later, from some random location. After they had time to learn the layout, they napped. Those who remembered dreaming about the layout did better at finding the landmark.

Wamsley thinks the brain processes information while asleep, and dreams are a sign of it. So she says:

``People should take sleep seriously, get enough sleep, and make sure that the memory processes are not disrupted.’’ (6 seconds)

The study in the journal Current Biology was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Learn more at hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: May 7, 2011