Psychologist Stanislav Sambursky told whether it is possible to study in a dream
At the beginning of the school year, many people have a question: is it possible to study while sleeping? If it doesn’t concern younger schoolchildren much, then it concerns students very much, because they have a catastrophic lack of time.
The answer to the question is yes and no. Counting on reinforcing new material in a dream is not the best idea, but reinforcing what has already been covered is another matter, notes psychologist Stanislav Sambursky .
It is known from the school curriculum that the brain continues to work actively during sleep. It does not switch off and reacts to external stimuli. An example can be given to confirm this: a sleeper wakes up faster when his name is called than from other stimuli.
For example, a mother, having fallen into a deep sleep, immediately jumps out of bed as soon as the baby starts crying.
The scientific community has long agreed that the activity of the sleeping brain is purely reflexive. This postulate was challenged by the research of Sid Kuider. In it, he proved that during sleep the brain is capable of planning and making decisions.
A team of researchers conducted experiments, the essence of which was as follows: participants were seated at a table on which there were two buttons.
The experimenter called out words, and if they included an animal, they pressed one button; if they included an object, they pressed another. During the experiment, electrical activity in the brain was measured, which was triggered by the decision of which button to press. As a result, the researchers tracked the crucial moment of decision-making and preparation for a response.
The second stage of the study involved changing the conditions. The subjects were escorted to a cozy room with dim lighting and soft furniture.
The experiment continued, but with greater comfort, which encouraged sleep. It is worth noting that this is exactly what Kouider's team was trying to achieve, having been able to confirm that the subjects' brains continued to be active in the areas that had been activated in the less attractive environment.
The words spoken out loud in a cozy room were different, but the brain's work in determining their meaning remained the same. Scientists have proven the continuation of brain activity in the right key, and not in the reproduction of previous answers. Upon waking up, the subjects were surprised that they continued to be told words. They did not remember it. Therefore, we can safely talk about the brain's work without the participation of consciousness.
Kouider claims that at night the brain switches to autopilot mode. Therefore, it easily continues automatic actions honed in a conscious state, that is, without the concentration for which the prefrontal cortex is responsible. And its activity, as is known, is suppressed during sleep. This statement is proven by cases of sleepwalking, when people make themselves a sandwich or perform other automatic actions in their sleep.
The study proved that at night the human brain performs actions that were previously honed during the day. But if we consider the data obtained with the desire to learn in sleep, then the probability of success is unlikely. This is explained by the fact that at this time cognitive processes are not subject to control. When "learning in sleep" there is a large share of distortions, and therefore the probability of errors that will not lead to the desired results.
It is also worth remembering that in sleep the brain solves its own problems, for example, analyzing the experience gained during the day. It is not safe to interfere with these processes, so it is better not to have hopes and rely solely on conscious learning.
