Dream more for a good memory--study

On the contrary, a short, disturbed catnap offers no such mental boost, researchers from University of California, San Diego found.

Scientists have stated that dreaming helps in restoring memories, in fact, the rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, stage of sleep when one dreams, is part of the memory process, the Daily Express reported.

Good sleep harbors good imagination
The study, presented at the Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association, revealed that a good sleep helps retrieve things better and a sharp memory further shapes skills like creativity, productivity, and imagination.

It also stated that a lack of a recommended seven to eight hours of slumber can hamper the brain's ability to build strong memories.

In adults, REM sleep forms around 20–25 percent of their total sleep, i.e., about 90–120 minutes of a night's sleep and a newborn baby spends more than 80 percent of total sleep time in REM.

During a normal night sleep, humans usually experience about four or five periods of REM sleep, which is quite short at the beginning of the night but gets longer towards the end.

It is also known that vividly recalled dreams mostly occur during REM sleep.

Study assessment
For the study, participants were assessed on the basis of a simple memory test called Remote Associates Test.

Initially, participants were shown sets of three words and were later asked to find other words that could be associated with all three words.

They were tested twice, once in the morning and again in the evening after the nap, which was either with REM sleep or one without REM sleep, also called quiet rest period.

According to the researchers, an improvement in people's ability in word-related examinations was seen after a period of REM (rapid eye movement) sleep.

The results revealed that REM sleep group improved by almost 40 percent whereas quiet rest and non-REM sleep groups showed no improvement in the test.

Dr Sara Mednick, Phd, lead researcher at the University of California, said, “REM sleep is important for pulling together all the information we process on a daily basis and turning it into memories we can use later."

"This helps us to understand more about the benefits of sleep and to help people maximize their sleep schedules for optimal productivity and memory retrieval," averred Mednick.