On the last Sunday in October, we will set our clocks back an hour, which may temporarily disrupt the sleep patterns of some people. Research at the University of Jyväskylä in Finland shows that sleep deprivation impairs learning, especially through the functions of the brain's hippocampus. Even though resetting the clocks can affect alertness, short-term sleep disturbances do not permanently impair our learning ability.
Early in the morning on the last Sunday of October, we will once again switch to winter time, that is, we set the clocks back an hour. Switching to winter time is considered the easier of the two annual clock transitions, as we gain an hour of sleep. Some people may find the one-hour change challenging, as our sleep patterns can be momentarily disturbed.
Researchers at the Department of Psychology of the University of Jyväskylä in Finland have studied how sleep deprivation can affect an individual's learning processes. Their research focused on the hippocampus, which is especially responsible for our long-term memory. Certain brain phenomena related to long-term memory are most common during sleep.
Our interest in studying functions related to the consolidation of memory traces finally led us to examine the hippocampus during the first periods of rest and sleep following learning." Miriam Nokia, AssociateProfessor, University of Jyväskylä Brain activity varies in different stages of sleep Sleep can be roughly divided into two main stages: Rapid Ey.
