Impact of sleep deprivation on memory and learning

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.33448/rsd-v13i3.45114

Keywords:

Sleep deprivation; Memory; Learning; Teaching.

Abstract

Sleep is understood as a natural process of reduction of the body's response to external stimuli, associated with the loss of consciousness, which is useful for several functions. However, there is currently an increase in the number of individuals who do not achieve a good sleep routine, which can be attributed to an increase in exposure to factors that hinder the achievement of adequate time and quality of sleep, leading to various impacts that affect cognitive health and the processes of knowledge acquisition and consolidation. Thus, it aims to clarify the mechanisms associated with sleep deprivation and its repercussions on memory and learning. It is a literature review based on the analysis of scientific articles published from 2012 to 2022, in PubMed and Science Direct, in which the key words "sleep deprivation" AND "memory" AND "learning" were used. It was verified that sleep deprivation can impair several cognitive and affective functions, such as reduced attention, psychomotor vigilance and increased variability in behavioral responses. In relation to memory processing, the decrease of the quantity and the quality sleep time can affect the ability to retain new information and make individuals more prone to develop false memories. Therefore, realizing the fundamental role of sleep in several functions of the human body, highlighting the consolidation of memory and learning, understand the various unfavorable impacts that a reduction in the number and quality of hours of sleep can have.

References

Almojali, A. I., Almalki, S. A., Alothman, A. S., Masuadi, E. M., & Alaqeel, M. K. (2017). The prevalence and association of stress with sleep quality among medical students. Journal of epidemiology and global health, 7(3), 169–174. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jegh.2017.04.005

Augustin M. (2014). How to learn effectively in medical school: test yourself, learn actively, and repeat in intervals. The Yale journal of biology and medicine, 87(2), 207–212.

Benington J. H. (2000). Sleep homeostasis and the function of sleep. Sleep, 23(7), 959–966.

Chatburn, A., Kohler, M. J., Payne, J. D., & Drummond, S. P. A. (2017). The effects of sleep restriction and sleep deprivation in producing false memories. Neurobiology of learning and memory, 137, 107–113. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nlm.2016.11.017

Choshen-Hillel, S., Ishqer, A., Mahameed, F., Reiter, J., Gozal, D., Gileles-Hillel, A., & Berger, I. (2021). Acute and chronic sleep deprivation in residents: Cognition and stress biomarkers. Medical education, 55(2), 174–184. https://doi.org/10.1111/medu.14296

Cousins, J. N., & Fernández, G. (2019). The impact of sleep deprivation on declarative memory. Progress in brain research, 246, 27–53. https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.pbr.2019.01.007

Csipo, T., Lipecz, A., Owens, C., Mukli, P., Perry, J. W., Tarantini, S., Balasubramanian, P., Nyúl-Tóth, Á., Yabluchanska, V., Sorond, F. A., Kellawan, J. M., Purebl, G., Sonntag, W. E., Csiszar, A., Ungvari, Z., & Yabluchanskiy, A. (2021). Sleep deprivation impairs cognitive performance, alters task-associated cerebral blood flow and decreases cortical neurovascular coupling-related hemodynamic responses. Scientific reports, 11(1), 20994. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-00188-8

Curcio, G., Ferrara, M., & De Gennaro, L. (2006). Sleep loss, learning capacity and academic performance. Sleep medicine reviews, 10(5), 323–337. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smrv.2005.11.001

Diekelmann, S., & Born, J. (2010). The memory function of sleep. Nature reviews. Neuroscience, 11(2), 114–126. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn2762

Donlea J. M. (2019). Roles for sleep in memory: insights from the fly. Current opinion in neurobiology, 54, 120–126. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conb.2018.10.006

Fallone, G., Owens, J. A., & Deane, J. (2002). Sleepiness in children and adolescents: clinical implications. Sleep medicine reviews, 6(4), 287–306. https://doi.org/10.1053/smrv.2001.0192

Gallistel, C. R., & Balsam, P. D. (2014). Time to rethink the neural mechanisms of learning and memory. Neurobiology of learning and memory, 108, 136–144. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nlm.2013.11.019

Hershner, S. D., & Chervin, R. D. (2014). Causes and consequences of sleepiness among college students. Nature and science of sleep, 6, 73–84. https://doi.org/10.2147/NSS.S62907

Holtmaat, A., & Caroni, P. (2016). Functional and structural underpinnings of neuronal assembly formation in learning. Nature neuroscience, 19(12), 1553–1562. https://doi.org/10.1038/nn.4418

Killgore W. D. (2010). Effects of sleep deprivation on cognition. Progress in brain research, 185, 105–129. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-444-53702-7.00007-5

Krueger, J. M., & Obal, F., Jr (2003). Sleep function. Frontiers in bioscience: a journal and virtual library, 8, d511–d519. https://doi.org/10.2741/1031

Langille J. J. (2019). Remembering to Forget: A Dual Role for Sleep Oscillations in Memory Consolidation and Forgetting. Frontiers in cellular neuroscience, 13, 71. https://doi.org/10.3389/fncel.2019.00071

Liu, Y., Wheaton, A. G., Chapman, D. P., Cunningham, T. J., Lu, H., & Croft, J. B. (2016). Prevalence of Healthy Sleep Duration among Adults--United States, 2014. MMWR. Morbidity and mortality weekly report, 65(6), 137–141. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6506a1

Lo, J. C., Chong, P. L., Ganesan, S., Leong, R. L., & Chee, M. W. (2016). Sleep deprivation increases formation of false memory. Journal of sleep research, 25(6), 673–682. https://doi.org/10.1111/jsr.12436

Patrick, Y., Lee, A., Raha, O., Pillai, K., Gupta, S., Sethi, S., Mukeshimana, F., Gerard, L., Moghal, M. U., Saleh, S. N., Smith, S. F., Morrell, M. J., & Moss, J. (2017). Effects of sleep deprivation on cognitive and physical performance in university students. Sleep and biological rhythms, 15(3), 217–225. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41105-017-0099-5

Rasch, B., & Born, J. (2013). About sleep's role in memory. Physiological reviews, 93(2), 681–766. https://doi.org/10.1152/physrev.00032.2012

Samkoff, J. S., & Jacques, C. H. (1991). A review of studies concerning effects of sleep deprivation and fatigue on residents' performance. Academic medicine: journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges, 66(11), 687–693. https://doi.org/10.1097/00001888-199111000-00013

Schmidmaier, R., Eiber, S., Ebersbach, R., Schiller, M., Hege, I., Holzer, M., & Fischer, M. R. (2013). Learning the facts in medical school is not enough: which factors predict successful application of procedural knowledge in a laboratory setting? BMC medical education, 13, 28. https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6920-13-28

Short, M. A., & Chee, M. W. L. (2019). Adolescent sleep restriction effects on cognition and mood. Progress in brain research, 246, 55–71. https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.pbr.2019.02.008

Stickgold, R. (2005). Sleep-dependent memory consolidation. Nature, 437(7063), 1272–1278. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature04286

Stickgold, R., Whidbee, D., Schirmer, B., Patel, V., & Hobson, J. A. (2000). Visual discrimination task improvement: A multi-step process occurring during sleep. Journal of cognitive neuroscience, 12(2), 246–254. https://doi.org/10.1162/089892900562075

Wolfson, A. R., & Carskadon, M. A. (2003). Understanding adolescents' sleep patterns and school performance: a critical appraisal. Sleep medicine reviews, 7(6), 491–506. https://doi.org/10.1016/s1087-0792(03)90003-7

Xie, W., Berry, A., Lustig, C., Deldin, P., & Zhang, W. (2019). Poor Sleep Quality and Compromised Visual Working Memory Capacity. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society: JINS, 25(6), 583–594. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1355617719000183

Downloads

Published

10/03/2024

How to Cite

STUDART, L. T. .; AGUIAR, A. B. .; OLIVEIRA, I. M. P. de .; ARAÚJO, V. O. .; NASCIMENTO, G. R. M. do .; DUARTE, I. A. .; LIMA, L. M. F. V. .; SANTOS, J. C. C. dos . Impact of sleep deprivation on memory and learning. Research, Society and Development, [S. l.], v. 13, n. 3, p. e2613345114, 2024. DOI: 10.33448/rsd-v13i3.45114. Disponível em: https://rsdjournal.org/index.php/rsd/article/view/45114. Acesso em: 22 dec. 2024.

Issue

Vol. 13 No. 3

Section

Health Sciences

License

Copyright (c) 2024 Luiza Targino Studart; Alan Bessa Aguiar; Isadora Mônica Ponte de Oliveira; Victor Oliveira Araújo; Gabriel Romão Mesquita do Nascimento; Isabella Araujo Duarte; Lara Maria Fujita Vieira Lima; Júlio César Claudino dos Santos

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

1) Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.

2) Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.

3) Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.