Improved Performance after Dreaming

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(Cue yawn.)
Want to ace that final? Forget pulling the all-nighter and try taking a nap instead.

According to a research project led by an assistant professor in psychiatry at the University of California in San Diego, a nap with dreams may improve academic performance. REM, or rapid eye movement, is a period of sleep when dreams can occur.

Professor Sara C. Mednick’s 2009 study tested 77 volunteers with IQ tests. Participants spent a day without sleep, with REM sleep, and without REM sleep. The tests revealed that there was a 40% improvement in performance with REM sleep overall.

But what actually happens during REM sleep? What makes it a magical performance booster?

As Mednick puts it, dreams create alternate worlds in which we put polar ideas together—something we would not do if we were awake. In REM sleep, it is more likely that we put odd ideas together and create a solution.

And what if you are not a dreamer or don’t have REM sleep?

Further investigation revealed that sleep without REM still resulted in better performance than no sleep at all. In other words, a nap-REM or none might help you ace the final. It is a win-win situation.

This is Lyanne Alfaro and Becky Savitt for Science in the Media-good luck and good night!


Produced by Lyanne, Becky, Olivia, and Madison.

 Works Cited

Bakalar, Nicholas. “Behavior: Better Performance After a Dreaming Nap.” The New York Times. 22 June 2009. Web. 3 Nov 2011.

“Stages of Sleep: REM and Non-REM Sleep.” WebMD. 2011. Web. 3 Nov 2011.