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WE are all aware of the need to study before an exam, but new research has shown that students will get maximum benefit from their revision if they get a good sleep before answering their questions.

A team from Notre Dame University in Indiana tested over 200 students who usually have six hours sleep a night. They were shown a number of words and asked to remember them in pairs. Results showed those students who went to sleep shortly after learning the pairs remembered significantly more than those who didn’t.

Speaking about the study to specialist science journal PLOS One, psychologist Jessica Payne said: “Our study confirms that sleeping directly after learning something new is beneficial for memory. This means it would be a good thing to rehearse any information you need to remember just prior to going to bed — in some sense, you may be “telling” the sleeping brain what to consolidate.”