Persuasive Essay On Memory And Learning

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Three days after moving to the United States from Canada, I had still not slept and I had to find my way Meramec for my first day of college. The initial problem was finding my way to the campus. As I held the hand-written map in my hand, I recall looking at it not knowing how to use it because I was so exhausted. After a grueling trip, I found a parking spot and trudged to my first class (which was all a blur). I could not focus on what should have been one of the most exciting days of my life. Everything around me seemed out of the ordinary and I could barely speak coherent sentences to my fellow classmates. When the class finally ended, I walked aimlessly around the campus trying to find where I had parked. I couldn’t, for the life of me, remember where I had left my car. After about fifteen minutes, a benevolent young man noticed my “fugue state” and offered to drive me around until we found my car. If it hadn’t been for him, I would have spent the next few hours aimlessly walking around the large campus. This story shows that sleep is vital to memory and learning.
Sleep is not generally something that students believe to be essential in regards to higher order memory and brain function, but as I learned it is crucial. Many studies show that a full nights rest is crucial for memory and learning, giving the brain the opportunity to consolidate the facts and information acquired throughout the day. On the other hand, if a person’s sleep is disturbed for long periods of time, there can be significant effects on brain functioning, causing lack of focus and judgment, lessened reaction time, and memory impairment. As shown in my story above, sleep plays an imperative role in memory.
Sleep is incited by natural cycles of activity...

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... consequences in regards to focus, attention, and awareness in the brain which will create difficulty in new learning.
Taken as a whole, each state of sleep, REM and non-REM plays a crucial role in memory and learning. Without it our brains would not be given the opportunity to consolidate new ideas and concepts learned throughout the days and even years. Many studies have shown that sleep is directly correlated with learning through similar brain functions activated while animals and people were both awake and asleep. If the proper amount of sleep is not allowed, sleep deprivation will impair brain functionality. This will create problems with neuron performance in areas such as the cerebral cortex, thus causing impairment in judgment, behavior, focus, memory and learning. Overall, it is clear that a good night’s sleep plays a vital role in learning and memory.

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