It is well known that quality sleep is essential to our overall health, but new research suggests that sleep also plays an important role in our ability to learn and take in new information. If you are planning to learn a new language next year, research shows that prioritizing proper sleep can help your brain remember information more efficiently. According to the study, based on clinical trials conducted by researchers at the University of South Australia, sleep helps people retain words and grammatical rules better, enhancing the language learning process.

Language comprehension is fundamentally dependent on long-term memory, and this study, published in the Journal of Neuroscience at the end of November, found that synchronized patterns of brain waves during the non-rapid eye movement (NREM) phase enhance both language learning and long-term memory retention.

To explore the relationship between memory retention and sleep, researchers at the University of South Australia asked 35 participants to learn Mini-Pinyin, a miniature language based on Mandarin Chinese with English-like grammatical rules. The participants were divided into two groups, with half learning the language in the morning and returning in the evening to take a memory test. The other half, on the other hand, learned mini Pinyin in the evening, slept through the night, and took a memory test the next morning. The researchers also tracked brain activity during sleep in the second group. The results showed that those who slept after learning the language performed better on the memory test.

During the tests, the researchers found that the synchronization of two specific electrical events in the brain during sleep significantly improved the ability to remember and recall new vocabulary. This important brain activity occurs during the NREM phase of sleep, which includes three distinct sleep stages and accounts for about 75% of total sleep time; of the 35 participants, those who went to sleep after learning mini pinyin performed better on memory tests the next morning. Researchers who monitored brain activity during the participants' sleep believe this is due to synchronized brain wave patterns during the first three stages of sleep.

Dr. Zakaria Cross, the study's principal investigator, said in a press release that post-sleep neural activity that exhibits unique patterns is associated with cognitive control and memory consolidation. Dr. Cross explained, “This coupling [of EEG patterns] may reflect the transfer of learned information from the hippocampus to the cortex, enhancing long-term memory storage.” [Findings from this study are also expected to be useful in the treatment of language-related disorders such as autism spectrum disorders and aphasia. According to Dr. Cross, this can be done by increasing the rate of slow vibration using methods such as transcranial magnetic stimulation, which can improve aphasia-based speech therapy.

This study shows that sleep quality and quantity play an important role in the ability to retain new information. So, if you are trying to learn a new language, sleep is key. Here are three simple ways to ensure a good night's sleep.

Following a consistent sleep schedule helps regulate your circadian rhythm, your body's internal clock. Going to bed and waking up at approximately the same time each day (even on weekends) will help your brain and body prepare for sleep and fall asleep more quickly. If your sleep schedule gets held up for any reason, such as travel or work, don't worry. Experts say an easy way to reset your schedule is to move up your bedtime by 20 minutes and return to your regular routine.

Improving sleep hygiene will help you fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer. Clean sleep hygiene means keeping the bedroom at an appropriate temperature, blocking out outside light, and keeping the sleeping area clean and uncluttered. Working in the bedroom should also be avoided because it creates a dissociation in the brain between the space and the idea of rest.

Scott Cousens, a researcher at the University of South Australia, said the study reaffirms the fact that sleep does not just mean time to rest. Sleep, he says, “is also an active altered state of the brain.” Large doses of caffeine have been shown to interfere with this process by causing frequent awakenings and disrupting deep sleep. [Caffeine affects everyone differently. However, caffeine has a half-life of 5 to 9.5 hours, which means that half of the caffeine ingested during drinking will remain in the bloodstream after that amount of time has passed.