Lunchtime naps prepare brain for learning: Swiss research

A midday nap can improve the brain's ability to learn, according to a new Swiss study. + Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox Even a short nap is enough to open up connections between nerve cells for new information. The study by the University of Geneva, the Centre for Sleep Medicine at the Geneva Hospital University and Fribourg University Hospital was published on Thursday in the scientific journal Neuriomage. During the day, the connections between the nerve cells, the synapses, are strengthened by the processing of impressions. This leads to saturation, which reduces the ability to learn. Sleep regulates this activity down again. "This synaptic reset already sets in after a midday nap," said study leader Christoph Nissen. High performance levels For the study, the researchers observed 20 healthy young adults. On two afternoons, they either took a nap for an average of 45 minutes or stayed awake. Using non-invasive methods such as EEG measurements, the ...