A DAYTIME NAP FACILITATES DECLARATIVE MEMORY ENCODING: EVIDENCE FROM A PAIRED-ASSOCIATE TASK

Sleep contributes to memory processing, and growing evidence suggests that even brief naps can benefit memory encoding. During wakefulness, the continuous encoding of information leads to a progressive increase in synaptic strength, which is thought to constrain further learning. According to the synaptic homeostasis hypothesis, sleep —particularly slow-wave sleep— promotes a global downscaling of synaptic strength, restoring the capacity for subsequent encoding. Here, we investigated whether a short nap enhances memory acquisition in a laboratory setting. Healthy adults were randomly assigned to a Nap or a Wakefulness group and performed a word-sound paired-associate learning task. Participants in the Nap group showed significantly higher performance in the learning task than those in the Wakefulness group, indicating that a short nap facilitates memory acquisition. These findings support the idea that brief naps may constitute an effective strategy to enhance learning capacity, with promising implications for educational and everyday-life settings.