I’m a night owl. I’m one of those people who works better at night and feels like there is a lot to do while awake. Sleep can come later. And studies have shown that night owls have higher intelligence than those who wake up early. Yep, stay up late and become smarter. I knew I was doing something right.

Not so fast, opposing scientists say. In fact, sleep helps you learn and remember.

“We speculate that we may be investigating a separate form of memory, distinct from traditional memory systems,” said Kimberly Fenn, assistant professor of psychology at the University of Michigan. “There is substantial evidence that during sleep, your brain is processing information without your awareness and this ability may contribute to memory in a waking state.”

In a study appearing in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, findings suggest people derive vastly different effects from “sleep memory,” with some memories improving dramatically and others not at all. This ability is a new, previously undefined form of memory.

“You and I could go to bed at the same time and get the same amount of sleep,” Fenn said. “But while your memory may increase substantially, there may be no change in mine.”

She added that most people in the study showed improvement.

Fenn says she believes this potential separate memory ability is not being captured by traditional intelligence tests and aptitude tests such as the SAT and ACT.

“This is the first step to investigate whether or not this potential new memory construct is related to outcomes such as classroom learning,” she said.

It also reinforces the need for a good night’s sleep.

“Simply improving your sleep could potentially improve your performance in the classroom,” Fenn said.

My memory is not what it used to be, and I’ve chalked that up to getting older. Maybe, though, it’s my lack of sleep. Maybe I’m trading memory for intelligence, and I’m not sure that’s an exchange I want to make. Would you?

(Some story materials provided by the University of Michigan.)

(Photo credit: Austin King / Creative Commons)