Air date: September 12, 2010

Host: Jeremy Shere, PhD

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Primary Care segments are presented
by IU Health Physicians.

Did you Know? is presented by Wishard Health Services, becoming Eskenazi Health in 2014.

Did you know that napping isn’t only for toddlers?

According to a recent study, young adults can benefit from an early afternoon nap, too.

In the study, 39 young men and women were asked to memorize 100 names and faces around noon, and then learn another set six hours later.

Approximately half of the participants took a 90 minute nap between the two sessions. The other half went napless. The nappers improved their scores on the later memory session by an average of 10 points. The non-nappers saw an equivalent drop in their scores?

Previous studies have suggested that sleep helps solidify memories after a study session. The new study hints that sleep may also prime the brain to better absorb new memories.

And now you know.

Now You Know is presented by Senior Care at Wishard, answering your questions at Living Longer Better.org.

Additional Resources:

• Read how napping helps the brain learn, from the NYT.