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NOVA scienceNOW: Sleep
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Classroom Activity
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Activity Summary
Students practice a procedural skill—knot tying—to
investigate if and in what way sleep affects learning and memory in
relation to a learning a procedural skill.
Learning Objectives
Students will be able to:
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learn the importance of practice in developing a procedural
skill.
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understand that information may become more permanent following
sleep.
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make inferences about the effect sleep may have on some types of
memory and learning.
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Review the investigation and consider how controls strengthen
the experiment.
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copy of the "Sleep and Memory?" student handout (PDF
or
HTML)
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copy of the "Knot Tying with a Twist" student handout (PDF
or
HTML)
- timer (seconds and minutes)
- rope (1 meter in length)
Background
Sleeping is a behavior that is natural and essential for our health
and well-being. In fact, it is a biological necessity—we would
die without it. Still, sleep is not yet well understood. It is known
that sleep is not a time for all body systems to shut down and rest.
Some brain activity actually elevates during sleep, and some hormone
secretions increase too. Studies show that sleep affects energy,
reaction rate, coordination, concentration, and focus. Lack of sleep
often results in costly and even deadly consequences. Tens of
thousands of people in the United States are injured each year
because of automobile accidents that result from drivers'
sleepiness!
Teens need between nine and ten hours of sleep each night, and
adults need about eight hours. In general, sleep follows a
predictable pattern or cycle of alternating phases of rapid eye
movement (REM) and non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep. The cycle
begins with about 90–100 minutes of NREM sleep followed by a
period of REM sleep. The pattern repeats itself, usually about five
or six times each night, with varying amounts (but within a
predictable range) of NREM and REM sleep. Different physiologic
changes occur during the NREM and REM sleep; brain waves, eye
movements, and muscle tension also vary.
Scientists suggest that a night's sleep (and sometimes even a nap)
seems to help consolidate memories related to habits, actions, and
skills practiced during the day.
Research is beginning to reveal more about the cognitive functions
related to learning and memory that are affected by sleep, and the
brain regions involved. Scientists have found that sleep seems to
improve memory related to some types of declarative (learning facts)
and procedural (how to perform a skill) learning, as well as the
ability to accomplish some spatial tasks.
Memory pertains to the way information is encoded, stored, and
retrieved from our brains. Short-term memory is related to
storage and recall of recent knowledge and events.
Working memory relates to the active aspect of short-term
memory. Recalling directions and gathering a remembered list of
items involve working memory. Long-term memory relates to the
storage and retrieval of relatively permanent information.
Investigators in the program theorize that during sleep, the brain
replays memories, modifying and enhancing them. Sleep helps improve
some kinds of memory tasks more than others, including recognition
of visual patterns, solving some kinds of math puzzles, and such
skills as typing. In rats, it seems that at least a part of the
mechanism of memory enhancement involves neural communication
between two areas of the brain—the hippocampus and the
neocortex—both of which play a role in memory storage.
In this activity, students will practice a procedural skill, knot
tying, and then investigate the effect of both practice and sleep on
learning this type of skill. Investigators in the program emphasize
that it is not only practice that makes perfect, but also a night's
sleep!
Because it is difficult to perform a highly controlled sleep
experiment in a classroom, this activity is an investigation of the
possible role sleep plays in learning some types of skills. After
completing the lesson, students will analyze the activity and
suggest controls that could be included to improve the reliability
of their results.
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In the week before doing this activity, ask three or four adults
to learn the knots. Have them assist students on the day the
activity is performed.
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Have students brainstorm and share how they learned to perform
skills such as typing, playing a musical instrument, dancing,
cycling, snowboarding, playing video games, or driving.
(People often learn these skills initially by being shown the
skill by an expert and then practicing it.)
Ask students what, other than practice, contributed to their
learning the skill.
(Some students may say: talking to themselves about the
process, mentally reviewing the process, paying attention to
mistakes, or thinking about and making connections to other
similar experiences. Some students may say that during the
process they thought about questions to later ask a teacher or
friend whom they thought might have the answer.)
Tell students that being actively engaged in learning any of the
above skills involves cognitive, or thinking,
processes—using their brains—coupled with physical
movement.
After the discussion, you may choose to ask a few students who
have learned to play an instrument, perform a dance, or who have
mastered another skill if they would like to briefly
demonstrate. Ask them how much they practice and have them
explain the difference between simple repetition and thoughtful
practice (see above). (You may want to demonstrate a skill
yourself.)
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Ask students to think about their own learning, and then have
them identify factors that can make it difficult to learn
something (e.g., illness, injuries, stress, constant
distractions, not their best time of day to learn, lack of
sleep). List the factors on the board. Tell students that
today's activity investigates whether sleep plays a role in
learning.
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Supply each student with the materials listed in the Materials
section. Review the handouts. Ask students to pair up. Have
pairs choose one of the three knots and learn to tie it. Tell
students that an adult can demonstrate tying the knot and will
help with any questions or problems. Each student should
accurately tie his or her knot five times.
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On the "Knot Tying with a Twist" handout, have students circle
the knot they chose. After accurately tying their knot five
times, and before leaving class, partners will time and score
each other's knot tying, and then record on their "Sleep and
Memory" student handout, next to Trial 1, their knot score and
the time it took to tie their knot.
NOTE: Be sensitive to differences in ability. Individual student
scores and times may vary greatly. Each student will be
recording and tracking his or her individual results. When the
class analyzes the data, only common patterns will be discussed.
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That evening before going to bed, each student should test his
or her knot-tying ability, writing the time and score on the
"Sleep and Memory" student handout next to Trial 2. A family
member should assist, acting as a partner and timer.
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When students wake up the next morning, they should record on
their "Sleep and Memory" handout the number of hours they slept,
how well they slept, and how rested they feel. (See the
Questions page of the handout.) Students should again tie their
knot after breakfast and record their knot-tying time on their
"Sleep and Memory" student handout, next to Trial 3. (Or, if
class meets early in the morning, have students repeat tying
their knot in class, recording their times and scores.)
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Have students complete the rest of the questions on their "Sleep
and Memory" handout.
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Draw two four-column charts on the board with the following
headings: Knot, Trial 1, Trial 2, and Trial 3. (See activity
answer, student handout question 3.) Have students enter their
data into one of the charts. Average the data for each knot and
enter it in the other chart.
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As a class, analyze the results in the charts (first in the
chart with the averaged data, then in the chart with the
whole-class results) by discussing knot times and comparing time
differences before and after sleep. Ask: "Is there a common
pattern in relation to time and score differences before and
after sleep?" Have students describe any pattern they see. Ask:
"What role did practice play in learning to tie the knot?" "Is
there any evidence that indicates sleep may have played a role
in learning?" "Are there other factors that may have influenced
results?"
Then discuss students' answers to the questions on the "Sleep
and Memory" student handout.
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As an extension, perform the activity again but instead of knot
tying have students explore the effect of sleep on memorizing a
short poem or speech. (Ask students to brainstorm a learning
activity to test.) Or try the same activity before and after a
nap rather than a full night's sleep.
Student Handout Questions
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About how many hours did you sleep last night?
Answers will vary.
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Check one of the following statements:
- I slept well, and I am well rested.
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I slept somewhere in between well and poorly, and I'm somewhat
rested.
- I slept poorly, and I am tired.
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Put your three knot-tying times and scores in order, from least
to greatest.
Answers will vary. Typical expected results for times: Trial
3 < Trial 1 ≤ Trial 2; Typical expected results for
scores: Trial 2 ≤ Trial 1 ≤ Trial 3)
Knot-Tying Results Chart (sample results)
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Knot
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Trial 1
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Trial 2
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Trial 3
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Square
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Time/Score
7 sec/5
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Time/Score
7 sec/4
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Time/Score
5 sec/5
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Bowline
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Time/Score
7 sec/5
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Time/Score
8 sec/4
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Time/Score
6 sec/5
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Sheepshank
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Time/Score
8 sec/5
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Time/Score
9 sec/5
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Time/Score
6 sec/5
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Consider whether the times suggest that sleep played a role in
learning in relation to your knot-tying ability.
Knot-tying scores may be greater and times shorter after
sleep
What factors other than sleep may have influenced results?
Factors include simply the passage of time and being a
morning person.
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Describe the role that practice played in helping you master
your knot.
Practice has the greatest influence on learning. While
practicing tying your knot, what sorts of questions did you ask
yourself? What thoughts did you have that may have helped you be
successful?
Student responses may include talking through the steps,
reminding themselves about one or more difficult steps, or
remembering a helpful saying about the process.
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Analyze the activity and suggest controls that could be included
to improve the reliability of results.
Students may suggest the following: control the sleep period
as best as possible; choose participants with the same amount
of knot-tying or equivalent experience; control diet; and
control stress as best as is possible. Then, propose an experiment with additional controls that
would increase the reliability of the results.
Students may suggest that participants undertake the
challenge together in an environment that is as similar as
possible for all participants.
Web Sites
NOVA scienceNOW—Sleep
www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/sciencenow/3410/01.html
Offers sleep-related resources, including additional activities,
streamed video, and reports by experts.
Are You a Lark, an Owl, or a Hummingbird
www.nasw.org/users/llamberg/larkowl.htm
Includes information about the sleep cycle, sleep requirements, the
function of sleep, and sleep disorders.
Clockwork Genes
www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/clocks/index.html
Contains four animations on biological clocks, pertinent articles,
and an online biological clockworks exhibit.
Information about Sleep
www.science.education.nih.gov/supplements/nih3/sleep/guide/info-sleep.htm
Presents an excerpt from a book about daily rhythms and the body
clock .
Neuroscience for Kids
faculty.washington.edu/chudler/chmemory.html
Provides a variety of memory-related experiments.
Power Nap Prevents Burnout; Morning Sleep Perfects a Skill
www.nimh.nih.gov/Press/sleep.cfm
Summarizes "power nap" and sleep studies that suggest sleep enhances
some types of learning.
Researchers Find the Snooze Button
www.hhmi.org/news/sehgal20060608.html
Describes research using fruit flies and the role of "mushroom
bodies" on regulating sleep.
Sleep Forms Memory for Finger Skills
www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.182178199
Describes results of a finger-to-thumb motor skill task. Findings
indicate that sleep is important for consolidation of motor skill
memories.
Books
The Body Clock Guide to Better Health
by Michael Smolensky and Lynne Llamberg. Henry Holt and Co.,
2000.
Discusses the importance of body rhythms in relation to health.
The Promise of Sleep
by William C. Dement and Christopher Vaughan. Dell, 2000.
Describes sleep disorders and discusses the importance of sleep.
The "Sleep and Memory" activity aligns with the following National
Science Education Standards (see
books.nap.edu/html/nses).
Grades 5-8
Science Standard C
Life Science
Science Standard F
Science in Personal and Social Perspectives
Grades 9-12
Science Standard C
Life Science
- The Behavior of Organisms
Science Standard F
Science in Personal and Social Perspectives
- Personal and Community Health
Classroom Activity Author
Developed by WGBH Educational Outreach staff.
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