Your Brain on Sleep -- Research From Notre Dame

Newswise — What’s going on in your head while you sleep? The research of Jessica Payne, associate professor and Nancy O’Neill Collegiate Chair in Psychology, shows that the non-waking hours are incredibly valuable for your day-to-day, especially for helping to commit information to memory and for problem solving. If you ever thought sleep was just downtime between one task and the next, think again.

Here are some key takeaways from the University of Notre Dame's resident sleep expert:

Your brain doesn’t take the night off -- In fact, it's incredibly busy. Many regions of the brain -- especially those involved in learning, processing information, and emotion -- are more active during sleep than when you’re awake.

Daytime naps aren't just for kindergarten -- A 90 minute nap could be as beneficial as a full night of sleep, and a 20 minute nap isn't far behind in benefits. The best time for a nap? In the afternoon, after lunch.

You can't just "make up" lost sleep -- Eventually, you lose so much sleep, you're not able to recover that sleep debt.

Even 20 extra minutes makes a big difference -- If you're not getting enough sleep, tack on 20 extra minutes on a regular basis. That alone will help you begin to reap the brain-building benefits of sleep.