睡梦之中也能帮助你学习?

Napping after learning something new could help you commit it to memory - as long as you dream, scientists say.

科学家称，在学了一些新东西之后小睡一会儿能够帮助大脑记忆-只要你做了梦。

They found people who dream about a new task perform it better on waking than those who do not sleep or do not dream.

他们发现一些做梦梦到一项新任务的人醒来之后会很好地完成这项任务，而且比那些不睡觉或不做梦的人完成地要好一些。

Volunteers were asked to learn the layout of a 3D computer maze so they could find their way within the virtual space several hours later.

自愿参与这项实验的人被要求了解一个3D电脑迷宫的构成，只有了解了那个之后，几个小时之后，他们才可能从虚拟的空间中走出来。

Those allowed to take a nap and who also remembered dreaming of the task, found their way to a landmark quicker.

这些允许小睡也记住要梦到任务的人，很快就找到了一个地标。

The researchers think the dreams are a sign that unconscious parts of the brain are working hard to process information about the task.

研究者们发现，做梦是大脑的下意识部分正在认真处理有关这项任务的信息的信号。

Dr Robert Stickgold of Harvard Medical School, one of the authors of the paper, said dreams may be a marker that the brain is working on the same problem at many levels.

来自哈佛大学医疗学院的罗伯特．斯第高特博士（Dr Robert Stickgold ），同时也是此次研究报告的作者之一，表示，做梦可能是大脑在不同程度地处理着同一个问题。

He said: "The dreams might reflect the brain's attempt to find associations for the memories that could make them more useful in the future."

他说道，“你做的梦可能反映出，大脑正尝试着找与你的记忆相关联的东西，以此来使他们在将来变得更加地有用处。”

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Co-author Dr Erin Wamsley said the study suggests our non-conscious brain works on the things that it deems are most important.

另一位研究人员伊尔琳．渥姆斯里博士（Dr Erin Wamsley）称，根据这份报告，人类大脑中的下意识部分会在它认为最重要的的事情上下功夫。

"Every day we are gathering and encountering tremendous amounts of information and new experiences," she said.

“每天我们都在收集大量的信息也会遇到各种各样的新情况 。”她说道。

"It would seem that our dreams are asking the question, 'How do I use this information to inform my life?"

“看起来，好像你的大脑在梦中问道‘我应该怎样利用这些信息来指导我的生活呢？’”

The research, published in the academic journal Cell Biology, could have practical implications.

这份刊登在学术期刊《细胞生物学》上的报告可能会产生实际的效用。

The scientists say there may be ways to take advantage of this phenomenon for improving learning and memory.

科学家称，有很多方法可以利用这种现象，来提高学习能力和记忆力。

For example, students might be better studying hard before bedtime, or taking a nap after a period of afternoon study.

例如，学生在睡前努力学习，或者一段时间的午间学习之后睡一会，学习效果会更佳。