Myth: Learning before sleep is best

Myth

A popular myth says: Learn new things before sleep. Allegedly, things you learn before sleep get best consolidation overnight. It is true that sleep is essential for memory consolidation (see: Sleep and learning). However, it is not true that learning before sleep is optimum

Fact

The opposite is true. The best time for learning in a healthy individual is early morning. Many students suffer from DSPS, and simply cannot learn in the morning. They are too drowsy. Their mind seems most clear in the quiet of the late night. They may indeed get better results by learning in the night, but they should rather try to resolve their sleep problem, e.g. with free running sleep (see: Curing DSPS and insomnia). Late learning may reduce memory interference, i.e. obliteration of the learned material by the new knowledge acquired during the day. However, a far more important factor is the neurohormonal state of the brain in the learning process. In that sense, the brain is best suited for learning in the morning. It shows the highest alertness and the best control of the balance between attention and creativity. The gains in knowledge structure and the speed of processing greatly outweigh all minor advantages of late-night learning (see: Natural creativity cycle)

Myth busting is an important mission at SuperMemo Guru. We tackle myths about memory, learning, creativity, SuperMemo, and incremental reading. Please write if you want a myth busted or if you disagree