Sleeping and Developing Parts of the Brain - Essay Example

Sleeping and Developing Parts of the BrainDuring teenage years and few years later, sleep patterns change, and so does brain development. Although the impacts of sleep on memory development among adolescents remain an understudied area, it is apparent that sleep plays a crucial role in firming up the memory. Some studies have, however, shown that sleep enhances declarative and procedural memories. The rapid eye movement and slow-wave sleep have particularly been documented as having immense impacts on memory consolidation (Potkin et al. 2012). The effectiveness of the declarative memory correlates with increased slow-wave sleep and vice versa.

Katya also noted that procedural memory in young adults improves following sufficient sleep. They tend to remember things done previously (Potkin et al. 2012). Dr. Jensen (2015) documented several experiments that featured high school students as the participants. The experiments had results revealing that memory improvement occurs during the REM and slow-wave sleep stages of sleep. During the REM sleep, the brain re-enacts through dreams and captures most of the information gathered when awake.

The stage also facilitates compaction of the information into the memory areas. Dr. Jensen notes that is why students are encouraged to have sufficient sleep during exam periods (2015). According to National Sleep Foundation (2000), high school students who register poor school performance and low grades report to have insufficient sleep. According to Spinks (2014), when asleep, the brain practices what the studentslearned the students during the day. What all these authors demonstrate is that a good sleep enhances the brain’s ability to remember things.

But as Giedd (2009) notes, the link between late adolescent changes in the brain and sleep remain poorly understood. ReferencesGiedd, J. (2009). Linking Adolescent Sleep, Brain Maturation, and Behavior.Journal of Adolescent Health, 319-320.Jensen, F., & Nutt, A. (2015).The teenage brain: A neuroscientist's survival guide to raising adolescents and young adults. HarperCollinsNational Sleep Foundation.(2000). National Sleep Foundation.Adolescent SleepNeeds and PatternsPotkin, K., Bunney, W., &García, A. (2012). Sleep Improves Memory: The Effect of Sleep on Long Term Memory in Early Adolescence.

PLoS ONE, E42191-E42191Spinks, S. (2014). Adolsents and Sleep. Retrieved October 6, 2015, from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/teenbrain/from/sleep.html