 Search NOVA Teachers  Back to Teachers Home  NOVA scienceNOW:
Sleep  Program Overview   Scientists examine the function of
sleep, particularly the relationship between sleep and memory.
This NOVA scienceNOW segment:    • describes sleep studies
involving fruit flies—after a night of being jostled in a
"deprivator," sleep-deprived flies need to catch up on lost
sleep.    • states that sleep is fundamental to essentially all
organisms.    • looks at the part(s) of the brain involved in
sleep—in fruit flies, the area is called the mushroom body,
known to be associated with memory rather than sleep.    •
introduces a sleep researcher who believes that during sleep
one's brain strengthens memories by reviewing what was learned
during the day.    • states that recent studies show that
practice of specific skills followed by sleep enhances
memory—after one night's sleep, even after a nap, people perform
better on some memory tests related to math puzzles, typing, and
recognizing visual patterns.    • introduces st