Daytime sleep makes your brain memorize false memories

Human memory is imperfect - there are memories we can keep, but there are other memories that have forever fallen into oblivion. And sometimes, we can even remember things that never happened - a phenomenon that scientists named "false memories" . But where is the source of these false memories?

There are memories we can keep, but there are other memories that have forever fallen into oblivion.

Previous studies have suggested that sleep is quite an important role in forming false memories, and in a recent study, scientists have more clearly defined the role of sleep. The role of fast waves called waves sleep spindle .

These fast waves are outbreaks of brain activity during sleep. They appear in the second stage of sleep, which is characterized by a lower heart rate and no eyeball movement.

This new study was published in December 2017 in the journal Neuropsychologia. To clarify the role of fast waves sleep spindle, the scientists conducted research on 32 subjects with deep sleep and did not use caffeine-containing foods before sleeping.

First, the participants will be given a series of keywords related to a particular topic. They will then be given sleep monitoring equipment, a type of device that monitors brain wave activity during sleep, and then they will be randomly assigned to one of two groups: one group will go to sleep nap during the day, and one group is kept awake during this time. A sleep log device that records brain wave activity will make sure that the group actually sleeps, not just resting in bed.

The group that is allowed to sleep during the day will be easily fooled by noise keywords.

After you have finished sleeping, both groups will once again look at the original keywords and indicate whether they have seen these words yet. Some words are repeated like the first time, but there are some new words added. Even the researchers added some "noise", which is also related to the topic of this keyword series, but was never made available for the first time.

The researchers found that the group given to sleep during the day would be easily fooled by the noise keywords, and assumed that they had seen the word before, thus creating false memories. This result completely coincides with the conclusions of previous studies

At the same time, the researchers also want to determine whether, in the left and right hemispheres, the hemisphere is primarily responsible for creating these virtual memories . They designed an experiment that allowed the display of keywords on the screen to be left to the left or right - so it was only seen by a hemisphere. These keywords appear and disappear so quickly, if only blinking you can miss that keyword. The reason why the researchers have to design this is because if the keywords show longer, the brain will immediately adjust so that both hemispheres can read the word.

The right hemisphere of the brain is a hemisphere that is easier to create virtual memories than the left hemisphere.

From this study, scientists found that the right hemisphere of the brain is a hemisphere that is easier to create virtual memories than the left hemisphere. This result is also consistent with previous research, when the right hemisphere of the brain produces more brain waves sleep spindle

Don't rush to blame your brain, because this is just the way your brain can work more efficiently, as they try to spend time and effort to determine what is the most important problem. The body has acquired it before bedtime. Therefore, the brain produced the brain waves that sleep spindle, and accidentally created false memories.