Sleep before and after learning 🧠 | 2min snip from Huberman Lab

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GUEST SERIES | Dr. Matt Walker: Using Sleep to Improve Learning, Creativity & Memory

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Sleep before and after learning 🧠

Sleep plays a crucial role in learning and memory by benefiting in three stages. First, sleep before learning prepares the brain to lay down memory traces. Second, sleep after learning saves and cements freshly minted memories. Lastly, sleep collides new memories with existing information in the brain, updating informational systems to enhance understanding and provide creative insights.

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This is episode 4 of a 6-part special series on sleep with Dr. Matthew Walker, Ph.D., a professor of neuroscience and psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, and author of the best-selling book "Why We Sleep." In this episode, we discuss the relationship between sleep, learning and creativity.

We explain why and how sleep before and after a learning bout can improve memory and performance for both cognitive tasks and physical skills. We also discuss how to use time learning and sleep, how to use naps, non-sleep deep rest states, and caffeine to optimize learning, and the mechanisms for sleep and memory consolidation.

We also explain the critical role that sleep plays in creativity and one's ability to discover novel solutions to challenges and problems.

This episode is filled with actionable information on using sleep to enhance skill learning and improve memory and creativity.

The next episode in this guest series explains how sleep benefits emotional regulation and mental health.

For show notes, including referenced articles and additional resources, please visit hubermanlab.com.