Sleeping and Learning – Using
Sleep Patterns to Process
Information Better

By Vicki Wrona, PMP:

In the book The Way We’re Working Isn’t Working, Tony Schwartz discusses many little known facts about sleep and learning, and the effect of too little sleep. In this post, I will discuss the duration of the sleep cycle, the five stages of sleep and what learning occurs in each stage, the impacts of too little sleep, and what constitutes too little sleep. Some of these facts were very eye-opening for me.

First, a study at Harvard showed that four hours of sleep over five consecutive nights impacts our memory, attention, and speed of thinking to a level equivalent to that of being legally intoxicated. Wow!

On the bright side, considerable learning occurs during sleep, and we can learn to take advantage of it. We process, sort, and consolidate memory during sleep. I call this “digesting.”  In one study, subjects were introduced to a problem which had a hidden shortcut. Two groups were trained in the evening with one group getting a night’s rest after the training and the other staying awake all night. A third group received the instruction the next morning and then waited eight hours without sleep before being tested on the training. The group that slept after the training was twice as likely to find the shortcut or hidden rule, allowing the task to be completed more quickly and efficiently than the other two groups.

There are five different stages of sleep, and different learning occurs during each of the stages. All stages are necessary to have complete learning or retention.

• Slow-wave sleep, the deepest of the cycles, is where we process fact-based information, such as a new language or recalling data like state capitals or earned value formulas.

• REM, or Rapid Eye Movement, sleep is where we process more complex and emotionally charged information. This is the lightest stage of sleep. It also allows us to remember “how” to do an activity, like typing or driving a car.

• Motor learning occurs during the middle stages of sleep.

• Visual learning is processed during slow-wave and REM sleep.

One complete cycle of sleep lasts 90 minutes. Completing the full 90 minute cycle is important to maximize learning. This can be used to our advantage when analyzing and solving a problem at work or when studying for the PMP exam. Studying at night and then sleeping on it allows us to sort, think through, and consolidate the information. In other words, we can properly digest it.

Taking a long nap (1.5 hours or more) after a morning of studying can also help the information sink in. Don’t fight the fatigue felt when studying or working hard on a problem. Study for a while and then rest on it. Allow it to sink in. More complete learning, and more creative solutions, will appear afterward. This is very helpful when working on a complex problem at work or at home, as well as helping PMP candidates answer the situational questions on the PMP exam.

Anyway, I’ve been working hard on a problem. Now I’m feeling sleepy….