A sleep learning hack backed by science

While everyone's fantasy is to acquire a "limitless pill" (without the side effect of course), or just download information directly to our brains - Matrix style. Learning something requires real effort, repetition and time. However, New research suggests that a technique once thought of as pseudo science or a marketing scheme, may actually have some credence if applied properly.  

During sleep we go through stages which include: light sleep, REM sleep, and deep sleep. Recent studies have shown we can learn faster for subjects with a auditory component (examples: foreign languages, vocabulary expansion, etc.). Playback of vocabulary, for instance, while you sleep can actually help you retain the information better. This works best if done at the beginning (light and REM phases of sleep), when the brain is mainly in Theta waves. Some important caveats include 1.) you can only use this to review what you have learned and 2.) It's best to have a gap in the recordings of few seconds between each element (like words, concepts, etc.). Just cuing the words is enough for your brain, it can be counter productive it's bombarded with information. If the brain is allowed to rest and this technique is properly employed it can help recall/retention 10-20%. One of the studies was done by University of Zurich and Fribourg. 

Although this is not something that should be done regularly, as it can hamper long term learning and integration of information the brain requires on a normal basis. It is a great technique to utilize when you need to learn something quick, before tests/exams/certifications, or if you do it sparingly (like once or twice a week) - Happy learning ! 

If you enjoyed this post - please resteemit and follow me @greatergood