Can a person learn while sleeping?

Our brains are constantly processing information, even during deep sleep – and new research suggests that it may actually be possible to learn new information while we sleep, according to research published in Current Biology.

businessinsider.com - How You Can Learn a New Language During Certain Phases of Sleep

How long does it take to play Fur Elise on the piano?

So how long does it take to learn Fur Elise? An intermediate player learning the full version of Fur Elise may take on average between 2 weeks and...

Last updated Mar 17, 2020

What note is Chanel Coco?

The fragrance opens with a citrus note of Sicilian mandarin and reveals a voluptuous heart of jasmine absolute, heightened with touches of ylang-...

Last updated Dec 2, 2019

Join almost HALF A MILLION Happy Students Worldwide

Promotion

If you're learning a language but are finding it a slow process, there may ways to speed things up. Your brain can establish links between words in two languages while you're asleep.

That means sophisticated learning is possible while you're snoozing.

Top editors give you the stories you want — delivered right to your inbox each weekday. Loading Something is loading. Thanks for signing up! Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. download the app Email address By clicking ‘Sign up’, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider as well as other partner offers and accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy While we can't exactly work or cook at the same time as snoozing, our brains are still very much active while we're asleep. Our brains are constantly processing information, even during deep sleep – and new research suggests that it may actually be possible to learn new information while we sleep, according to research published in Current Biology. Led by Katharina Henke, Marc Züst, and Simon Ruch from the Bern Institute of Psychology, a team of scientists tested whether it was possible to learn a new language while sleeping.

It's difficult to define states of consciousness such as 'asleep' and 'awake'

Though we use the terms "awake" and "asleep" a lot to define our state of consciousness, our brains aren't quite that straightforward. Our brains alternate between two phases approximately every half second — active phases or "up-states" and passive phases, also known as "down-states".

In the experiment, participants were given headphones to listen to while asleep.

Words from an artificial language played while they slept, as well as the German translations for these words — when the second word of a pair was repeatedly played in an "up-state", meaning associations were formed unconsciously in the brain. Recordings playing through the participants' headphones suggested that "Tofer" meant "key" and "Guga" meant "elephant". On waking up, the subjects were able to determine whether "Tofer" or "Guga" denoted larger or smaller objects. "It was particularly interesting that language areas and the hippocampus — which normally regulate language-learning while we're awake — were also activated when learning the vocabulary learnt in deep sleep," said co-author of the study, Marc Züs, in an Informationsdienst Wissenschaft press release. "It seems these structures regulate memory formation independent of whatever state of consciousness we're in — whether unconsciously in sleep, or consciously while we're awake." So it seems sleep is not a state where we're shielded from the outside world, as was widely accepted in the field of sleep research — that means sophisticated learning is possible while you're snoozing.

Is self taught piano OK?

Yes! While we believe the best way to learn piano is from an expert instructor, we're also in full support of students who prefer self-learning....

Last updated Dec 3, 2021

Why do Japanese say kawaii?

The word “kawaii” is derived from a phrase that means ” a radiant face” which refers to the blushing of an embarrassed person. Over time, the...

Last updated Oct 22, 2020

Promotion

Is 70 too old to learn the piano?

People can start piano at 60, at 70, at 80, even later. Your brain can still form new connections at any age. You can always learn new skills. For...

Last updated Oct 23, 2018

Which app is better flowkey or Simply Piano?

Flowkey is the overall better option if you are a beginner looking for comprehensive online piano lessons. They have a large selection of songs to...

Last updated Oct 13, 2021

Promotion

Is it illegal to burn CDs for personal use?

No, it is not legal to burn and retain a copy of a cd you do not own. You can buy a cd and burn a copy to your computer or ipod for your own use,...

Last updated Dec 20, 2020

Promotion

Where can I get free piano sheet music?

7 of my favorite sites to find tons of free sheet music for any instrument. IMSLP. MUSOPEN. 8Notes. MuseScore. MutopiaProject. BandMusicPDF. Free...

Last updated Apr 23, 2019