SSCE 2024-2025

EFFECT OF SLEEP ON MEMORY

NAME: S. AZA
CLASS: XII ‘A’
 BONAFIDE CERTIFICATE

Certified to be the Bonafide Project Work in Biology done

by S. AZA of Class-XII Section-A of D.A.V. Sr. Secondary
School, Mogappair during the year 2024-2025.

_____________________ _____________________
Signature of Principal Signature of the Teacher

School seal

Submitted for the practical examination held on

____________ at D.A.V. SR. SECONDARY SCHOOL,
MOGAPPAIR.

Internal examiner External examiner

Date:
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I am deeply grateful to my Principal, Mrs. Uma Parvathy

for creating a supportive learning environment and for
offering me the valuable opportunity to work on this
project.

I would also like to extend my sincere thanks to Mrs.

Nirmala Suresh, my biology teacher, for her guidance,
insightful feedback, and patience throughout the course
of this project. Her expertise has significantly contributed
to the successful completion of this work.

A special thanks to my project partner, ATCHAYA. P, for

her collaboration, hard work, and enthusiasm. This project
would not have been possible without her active
participation and shared commitment.

Lastly, I express my gratitude to all those who directly or

indirectly supported me during this project, including my
family and friends, who provided moral support and
encouragement.
 INDEX

S.NO. TOPIC
1. SLEEP
▪ What is sleep?
▪ Anatomy of sleep
▪ Stages of sleep
▪ Importance of sleep
2. HOW ARE SLEEP AND MEMORY CONNECTED?
▪ Memory
▪ Stages of sleep and memory
▪ Sleep’s role in Memory consolidation
▪ How does sleep deprivation affect brain
functions and memory?
3. STATISTICS ABOUT SLEEP AND ITS EFFECTS
4. BIBLIOGRAPHY
 WHY THIS TOPIC?

Sleep is a fundamental aspect of human life, yet its role in

cognitive processes like memory is often overlooked. In an
era where sleep deprivation is increasingly common due
to busy lifestyles, academic pressures, and the use of
technology, understanding the connection between
sleep and memory is more relevant than ever.

Memory is crucial for learning, decision-making, and

overall cognitive function. By exploring how sleep
influences memory consolidation and retention, we aim
to highlight the importance of good sleep hygiene and its
impact on academic performance and mental well-
being. This topic is especially significant for students and
professionals alike, as it underscores how adequate sleep
is crucial for optimising learning and productivity

Furthermore, this topic allows us to delve into current

research and scientific findings, fostering a deeper
understanding of the biological mechanisms involved in
sleep and memory.
 SLEEP

What is sleep?
Sleep is defined as a natural and reversible state of
reduced responsiveness to external stimuli and relative
inactivity, accompanied by a loss of consciousness. Not
only does sleep give your body time to rest and recharge,
it may also be crucial to your brain’s ability to learn and
remember. Sleep is necessary to consolidate a memory so
that it can be recalled in the future. During sleep, while
our body rests, our brain is busy processing information
from the day and forming memories.

Anatomy of sleep:

Hypothalamus:
The hypothalamus, a critical structure deep within the
brain, regulates sleep and arousal. It contains the
suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), which receives light
exposure information from the eyes and aligns the body’s
internal clock with the external light-dark cycle. Damage
to the SCN can disrupt circadian rhythms, leading to
erratic sleep patterns. However, most blind individuals can
still sense light and adjust their sleep-wake cycles
accordingly.

Brain Stem:
The brain stem, located at the base of the brain, works
with the hypothalamus to control transitions between
wakefulness and sleep. It produces the neurotransmitter
GABA, which inhibits arousal centres, promoting sleep.
Additionally, the brain stem, especially the pons and
medulla, plays a crucial role in REM sleep by sending
signals to relax muscles, preventing movement during
dreams.

Thalamus:
The thalamus functions as a relay station for sensory
information travelling to the cerebral cortex. During most
sleep stages, the thalamus quiets down, allowing the
brain to block out external stimuli. However, during REM
sleep, the thalamus becomes active again, sending
images, sounds, and other sensations to the cortex, which
contributes to vivid dreaming.

Pineal Gland:
The pineal gland, located between the brain’s
hemispheres, responds to signals from the SCN to regulate
melatonin production. Melatonin, a hormone that
promotes sleep, increases when light decreases. In blind
individuals, melatonin supplements can help stabilize
sleep patterns. Melatonin levels fluctuate with the body’s
circadian rhythm, influencing the sleep-wake cycle.

Basal Forebrain:
The basal forebrain, positioned near the front and bottom
of the brain, is involved in promoting both sleep and
wakefulness. Additionally, the midbrain contains an
arousal system. Adenosine, a chemical released from cells
in the basal forebrain and other regions, supports sleep
drive. Caffeine counters sleepiness by blocking
adenosine's effects, thereby promoting wakefulness.

Amygdala:
The amygdala, an almond-shaped structure involved in
emotional processing, becomes increasingly active
during REM sleep. This heightened activity is associated
with the processing of emotional experiences and the
vividness of dreams.

Stages of sleep:
There are two basic types of sleep: rapid eye movement
(REM) sleep and non-REM sleep (which has three different
stages). Throughout a typical night, we cycle through all
stages of non-REM and REM sleep several times, with
increasingly longer and deeper REM periods occurring
toward morning.

Stage 1 non-REM sleep:

It is the transition from wakefulness to sleep. During this
short period, which lasts several minutes, we enter a state
of relatively light sleep. Our heartbeat, breathing, and eye
movements begin to slow down, and our muscles relax,
occasionally twitching. Brain waves also start to slow from
their daytime wakefulness patterns as our body prepares
to enter deeper sleep stages.

Stage 2 non-REM sleep:

It follows as a period of light sleep before we enter
deeper sleep. In this stage, our heartbeat and breathing
continue to slow, and our muscles relax further. Our body
temperature drops, and eye movements stop completely.
Brain wave activity slows down, but brief bursts of
electrical activity, known as sleep spindles, occur. We
spend more of our repeated sleep cycles in Stage 2 sleep
than in any other sleep stage, making it a significant part
of the overall sleep process.

Stage 3 non-REM sleep:

It is the deep sleep stage that is crucial for feeling
refreshed in the morning. This stage occurs in longer
periods during the first half of the night. During Stage 3,
our heartbeat and breathing slow to their lowest levels,
and our muscles are fully relaxed. It is during this deep
sleep that it becomes difficult to awaken, as our brain
waves slow down significantly, contributing to the
restorative effects of sleep.

REM sleep:
It begins about 90 minutes after falling asleep. During this
stage, our eyes move rapidly, and brain activity resembles
wakefulness. Breathing becomes faster and irregular,
while heart rate and blood pressure rise. Most dreaming
happens during REM, and our muscles are temporarily
paralyzed to prevent acting out dreams. As we age, we
spend less time in REM sleep. Both REM and non-REM
sleep are important for memory consolidation.

Dreams:
Dreams are mental experiences that occur during REM
sleep, characterized by vivid imagery, emotions, and
sensations. While they can happen during other sleep
stages, they are most frequent and vivid during REM
sleep. Theories suggest dreams help process emotions,
solve problems, and consolidate memories, linking new
information with existing memories. Additionally, dreams
can be influenced by external stimuli and emotional
states.

Importance of sleep:
Sleep is important to several brain functions, including
how neurons communicate with each other. In fact, our
brain and body stay remarkably active while we sleep.
Recent research suggest that sleep plays a
housekeeping role that removes toxins in our brain that
build up while we are awake.
Some other health benefits of sleep include promoting
growth, helps heart health, supports weight
management, increases attention span, boosts memory
and learning.
Sleep affects almost every type of tissue and system in the
body – from the brain, heart, and lungs to metabolism,
immune function, mood, and disease resistance.
Research shows that a chronic lack of sleep, or getting
poor quality sleep, increases the risk of disorders including
high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, diabetes,
depression, and obesity.
 HOW ARE SLEEP AND MEMORY
CONNECTED?

Memory:
Memory is a vital cognitive function that enables us to
store and recall information.
Current research indicates that the brain is highly active
during sleep, organizing and storing memories from the
day. Newly acquired memories are reactivated during
sleep, which strengthens and stabilizes them into long-
term knowledge.

Stages of sleep and memory:

The various stages of sleep play distinct roles in memory
consolidation. Both REM and NREM sleep contribute to
memory consolidation.

Stage 1 (NREM):
This stage marks the transition from wakefulness to deeper
sleep. While not directly involved in memory
consolidation, it prepares the brain for the more
restorative stages of sleep.

Stage 2 (NREM):
During this stage, the brain prepares for deeper sleep
phases, which are important for effective memory
consolidation.
Stage 3 (NREM):
Declarative Memories: Slow-wave sleep (Stage 3 sleep) is
particularly beneficial for forming declarative memories,
which involve facts and events that can be consciously
recalled.

REM Sleep:
• Non-declarative Memories: REM sleep is crucial for
processing non-declarative memories, including motor
skills (e.g., walking, writing) and procedural abilities (e.g.,
driving, playing piano).
• Emotional Events: REM sleep also helps process
emotional experiences and connects memories, which
can enhance problem-solving and creativity.

Sleep’s role in memory consolidation:

There are three main processes involved in memory:
1. Encoding: The process of converting sensory input
into a form the brain can store, influenced by
attention and context.
2. Consolidation: The maintenance of encoded
information over time, which can be short-term (brief,
limited capacity) or long-term (lasting, extensive
capacity).
3. Retrieval: The ability to access and recall stored
information when needed, depending on how well
the memory was encoded and stored.

While encoding and retrieval occur when awake, sleep

plays a crucial role in memory consolidation, promoting
long-term retention. Sleep reduces external distractions,
allowing the brain to enhance memories and improve
creativity, problem-solving, and emotional stability. It is
vital both before and after learning. Adequate sleep
prepares the brain for new learning and helps consolidate
and organize information from the previous day.
Sleep improves memory retention and recall by between
20 to 40 percent.
Sleep also plays a major role in forming long-term
memories. The slow brain waves of stage 3 sleep “serve as
a courier service,” transporting memories from the
hippocampus to other more permanent storage sites.
The waking brain is optimized for the acute processing of
external stimuli that involves the encoding of new
information and memory retrieval; the sleeping brain
provides optimal conditions for consolidation processes
that integrate newly encoded memory into a long-term
store.
Encoding and consolidation might be mutually exclusive
processes in as much they draw on overlapping neuronal
resources. Thus sleep as a state of greatly reduced
external information processing represents an optimal
time window for consolidating memories.
Recent evidence suggests that memory traces are not
consolidated once but, upon their reactivation by a
reminder or active retrieval, undergo a period of
reconsolidation to persist for the long term.
Sleep serves memory consolidation is conceptually rooted
in the standard two-stage memory system which is
currently the most influential model of human memory
and has been developed as a solution to several key
problems arising from simple associative network models
of memory.

▪ The two-stage memory formation mechanism

assumes that memories are initially encoded into a
fast learning store (i.e., the hippocampus in the
declarative memory system) which ensures quick
and efficient encoding of memories and then
gradually transferred to a slow learning store for long-
term storage (i.e., the neocortex).
▪ Over time, the information is gradually integrated in
the slowly learning long-term store without overwriting
older, more remote memories.
▪ By the repeated reactivation of the new memories
during off-line periods like sleep, the slowly learning
long-term store is trained and the new memories are
gradually strengthened and adapted to pre-existing
long-term memories.
 ▪ For the declarative memory system, the two-stage
model has received strong support from lesion
studies, indicating that lesions of the hippocampus
abolish the ability to acquire new declarative
memory and simultaneously produce a temporally
graded retrograde amnesia where older memories
remain intact.
▪ The time interval for a memory to reach a state of
hippocampus-independent retrieval can vary from
one day to several months or years, depending on
the acquired information and the schemas pre-
existing in long-term memory.
The standard two-stage model of memory has been also
successfully applied to non-declarative kinds of memory,
like procedural memory, suggesting that the offline
reactivation of recent memories and their redistribution
from a fast encoding temporary to a slowly learning
permanent store could be a general feature of long-term
memory formation.
Consolidation processes acting during sleep are driven by
motivational factors and specifically strengthen those
memories, which are relevant for our goals and future
behaviour.
The “active system consolidation” concept implies that
memory consolidation during sleep is selective.

How does sleep deprivation affect brain functions

and memory?
Sleep deprivation can impact our brain’s ability to
function in many ways, including:
Memory: Sleep strengthens the neural connections that
form memories. When we are sleep-deprived, our neurons
are overworked and can’t function properly, which can
affect our ability to remember and learn.
Attention: Sleep deprivation can make it harder to pay
attention, especially to new or moving targets.
Reaction time: Sleep deprivation can slow our reaction
time.
Decision making: Sleep deprivation can make it harder to
make decisions.
Emotional regulation: Sleep deprivation can make it
harder to manage our emotions.
Social functioning: Sleep deprivation can make it harder
to judge other people’s emotions and reactions.
Learning: Sleep deprivation can make it harder to learn.
Processing information: Sleep deprivation can slow down
the speed at which we process information.
Insight: Sleep deprivation can make it harder to have
insight.
An ongoing lack of sleep has been closely associated
with hypertension, heart attacks and strokes, obesity,
diabetes, depression and anxiety, decreased brain
function, memory loss, weakened immune system, lower
fertility rates and psychiatric disorders.
 STATISTICS ABOUT SLEEP AND ITS
EFFECTS

• A study published in Nature Reviews Neuroscience

found that sleep-deprived individuals had a 40%
reduction in the ability to form new memories compared
to those who had a full night's sleep.
• According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH),
individuals who get adequate sleep after learning a new
task are 20-30% more likely to retain that information.
• Chronic sleep deprivation (less than 6 hours per night) is
associated with a 33% increase in the risk of developing
dementia.
• A study in The Journal of Neuroscience reported that
even one night of sleep deprivation can lead to a 30%
decrease in the efficiency of memory encoding.
• Short naps (20-30 minutes) have been shown to boost
memory and learning capacity. A NASA study on pilots
and astronauts found that naps improved performance
by 34% and alertness by 54%.
• Poor sleep quality is linked to a higher risk of cognitive
decline. A study from The Lancet Neurology revealed that
individuals with sleep apnea, which reduces sleep quality,
were 50% more likely to develop mild cognitive
impairment.
Survey:
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

▪ https://www.med.upenn.edu/csi/the-impact-of-
sleep-on-learning-and-memory.html
▪ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3768
102/
▪ https://health.ucdavis.edu/blog/cultivating-
health/better-sleep-why-its-important-for-your-health-
and-tips-to-sleep-soundly/2023/03
▪ https://www.ninds.nih.gov/health-information/public-
education/brain-basics/brain-basics-understanding-
sleep
▪ https://sleepdoctor.com/how-sleep-works/sleep-
and-memory/
▪ https://www.sleepfoundation.org/sleep-
hygiene/nasa-nap