Day-time naps help us acquire information not consciously perceived, study finds | E. Coulthard

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Oct. 4, 2018 (MedicalXpress) -- The age-old adage "I'll sleep on it" has proven to be scientifically sound advice, according to a new study that measured changes in people's brain activity and responses before and after a nap.

The findings, published in the Journal of Sleep Research, support the advice which suggests that a period of sleep may help weighing up pros and cons or gain insight before making a challenging decision.

The Medical Research Council-funded study, led by University of Bristol researchers, aimed to understand if a short period of sleep can help us process unconscious information and how this might affect behavior and reaction time.

The findings further reveal the benefits of a short bout of sleep on cognitive brain function and found that even during short bouts of sleep we process information that we are not consciously aware of.

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