Is it possible to learn as we sleep? Learning involves memory, and just like other muscles in the body, memory has the ability to be strengthened and enhanced. But instead of using conventional methods, such as reading and repetition, to strengthen our memory, why not strengthen it as we sleep? It’s not clear why humans sleep, but there are several good reasons as to why we need it. One of those reasons is to process information. When we sleep, the brain transfers short-term memories experienced throughout the day into long-term memories. This process is called memory consolidation. In short, even though we may be sleeping, our brains are still working to process information. However, before we can improve our memory, we must understand the sleep cycle. There are 4 stages of sleep: 1, 2, 3, and REM (rapid eye movement). Deep sleep occurs in stage 3 of the sleep cycle, and during deep sleep, our brains conduct waves called Delta waves. These slow, high amplitude brain waves make the brain highly receptive to information. It is also at this point that scientists believe that memory consolidation can happen, the point in which our memories can be strengthened. That means if an audio file is played during deep sleep, the time when the brain is conducting Delta waves, then the information that is sung or spoken has the ability to seep through a person’s subconscious and be processed during memory consolidation. Of course, one cannot expect instant results from listening to an audio file as they sleep, but it is still a wonder that the “sleeping” brain has the ability to encode new information and store it for long term. Will we ever reach the point of being able to fully hack the brain as we sleep? Who knows, but we should never underestimate the power of the human brain.
