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[stocks]

A nap after lunch boosts the brain's learning capacity

Researchers have found that sleeping for an hour in the afternoon boosts brain power and dramatically increases its ability to learn new facts and tasks.

On the other hand, the more hours we spend awake, the more sluggish our minds become and the less able to absorb new information.

"Sleep not only rights the wrong of prolonged wakefulness but, at a neurocognitive level, it moves you beyond where you were before you took a nap," said Professor Matthew Walker, who led the study at the University of California.


"I can't imagine Mother Nature would have us spend 50 percent of the night going from one sleep stage to another for no reason," Prof Walker said. "Sleep is sophisticated. It acts locally to give us what we need."

Prof Walker and his team will go on to investigate whether the reduction of sleep experienced by people as they get older is related to the documented decrease in our ability to learn as we age.

Finding that link may be helpful in understanding such neurodegenerative conditions as Alzheimer's disease, Prof Walker said.

http://www.telegraph...g-capacity.html