There have been many claims that one can learn while asleep – possibly with the aid of a recorded series of suggestions or information being spoken from a speaker under ones pillow. Different research projects have arrived at a variety of conclusions. The major scientific conclusion is that we do not learn from what we hear while asleep. Sleep is important in the process of learning however. If one learns a list of nonsense words, memory of them eight or twenty four hours later, is better if we have slept. Memory eight hours later without sleep is not as efficient as twenty four hours later with intervening sleep. This suggests memory traces are strengthened during sleep.
