Sleep well to learn better

We have always known that sleep is essential for many things: being in better physical and mental condition, growing well, staying focused, assimilating what has been learned during the day... So as the start of the school year approaches, we thought that looking at the links between sleep and memory would be essential, to get back to school on the right foot and do well all year long.

Humans spend a third of their lives sleeping, and it is when we sleep that the brain sorts the information received during the day, to keep the essentials. This information is sorted in part thanks to the hippocampus .

The hippocampus is a brain area that is essential for memory processes. It is a symmetrical structure area present in each hemisphere, under the surface of the cortex. Even if the hippocampus is not the area of ​​the brain in which memories are stored, it is one of the areas linked to memory. It is more specifically responsible for signaling information to be retained during sleep . A Franco-Belgian study (published in the Journal of Neuroscience ) aimed at confirming and deepening the link between sleep and memory was conducted on students. After learning a list of words classified into two categories ("to remember" and "to forget"), the sleep-deprived students had retained the words to remember, but also those to forget. While the students who had slept normally had been able to sort between the two categories and keep only the words to remember. Sleep then allows the brain to properly classify information and get rid of the surplus . Sleeping well then allows the brain to have the space it needs, for the information it needs!

But then, how can you sleep well?

The sleep hormone: melatonin

Melatonin is a hormone secreted by mammals , which regulates in particular and to a large extent the sleep/wake cycles . It is produced mainly at night , with a peak around 5 a.m.

It is possible to boost your own melatonin naturally thanks to certain foods. Here is a non-exhaustive list of foods rich in melatonin:
• Corn
• Rice
• Ginger (root)
• Peanuts
• Oat flakes
• Asparagus
• The tomato
• Fresh mint
• Black tea
• Unripe banana
• Broccoli

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