BOSTON, Nov. 23 (UPI) ─ Participants in a recent study were much better at remembering the names and faces of first-time acquaintances if they were able to get at least eight hours of sleep.
The study featured 14 participants, each of whom were asked to memorize the names and faces of 20 people, selected randomly from a database of 600 color portrait photos of adults. Twelve hours later, the participants were shown the same 20 photos, only this time some of the names had been changed.
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The participants were asked to identify whether or not the faces were attached the same name or not, and were also asked to rate their confidence in each response.
Each participant took the test twice. Once with at least eight hours of sleep in between, and another with the 12 intervening hours occupied by normal daytime activity.
Participants correctly identified 12 percent more mismatched names and faces when they got a good night’s sleep in between the memorization and testing phases.
Previous studies have shown naps have a similarly positive effect on name and face memorization, but this was the first time researchers tested the effects of a full night’s rest.
“We found that when participants were given the opportunity to have a full night’s sleep, their ability to correctly identify the name associated with a face — and their confidence in their answers ─ significantly improved,” researcher Jeanne F. Duffy, an associate neuroscientist who studies sleep disorders at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, said in a press release.
Of course, the revelation won’t help those that forget names in the midst of their introductory conversation.
The new findings were published this week in the journal Neurobiology of Learning and Memory.
All 14 study participants were healthy adults in the twenties, but Duffy and her colleagues are planning to do similar experiments with older adults.
“Sleep is important for learning new information. As people get older, they are more likely to develop sleep disruptions and sleep disorders, which may in turn cause memory issues,” said Duffy. “By addressing issues with sleep, we may be able to affect people’s ability to learn things at all different ages.”
