or trying to learn a new musical instrument

或者嘗試學新樂器，

or even trying to perfect a new sport,

甚至想精進一項新運動，

sleep may actually be your secret memory weapon.

睡眠可以是你的秘密記憶武器。

[Sleeping with Science]

［睡眠與科學］

Studies have actually told us that sleep is critical for memory

研究曾告訴我們，睡眠在至少三方面

in at least three different ways.

對記憶力是極為重要的。

First, we know that you need sleep before learning

首先，我們都知道，學習前要睡眠

to actually get your brain ready,

才能讓你的大腦待命，

almost like a dry sponge,

就像一塊乾海棉，

ready to initially soak up new information.

準備好去吸收新資訊。

And without sleep, the memory circuits within the brain

而且，缺乏睡眠 會讓在大腦巡迴的記憶

effectively become waterlogged, as it were,

像以前一樣被浸沒，

and we can't absorb new information.

使我們不能吸收新訊息。

We can't effectively lay down those new memory traces.

我們會無法有效地 放下那些新記憶的蹤跡。

But it's not only important that you sleep before learning,

可是，不是只有學習前的睡眠很重要，

because we also know that you need sleep after learning

因為我們知道學習之後也要睡眠，

to essentially hit the save button on those new memories

才能真的按下新記憶的儲存按鈕，

so that we don't forget.

這樣我們才不會忘記。

In fact, sleep will actually future-proof that information

事實上，睡眠其實會將大腦內的訊息

within the brain,

永久保存，

cementing those memories

鞏固當中的記憶於

into the architecture of those neural networks.

神經網路中的體系結構。

And we've begun to discover

那麼我們已經開始探索

exactly how sleep achieves this memory-consolidation benefit.

睡眠究竟是怎樣達成記憶鞏固的好處 。

The first mechanism is a file-transfer process.

第一個途徑就是檔案傳輸過程。

And here, we can speak about two different structures

這裏面包含了兩種

within the brain.

在腦中的結構。

The first is called the hippocampus

第一種結構叫做海馬迴，

and the hippocampus sits on the left and the right side

海馬迴分別位於大腦的左右兩側。

of your brain.

你可以把海馬迴想像為

And you can think of the hippocampus

在大腦內接收資訊的信箱一樣。

almost like the informational inbox of your brain.

它很擅長接收和抓牢新的記憶檔案。

It's very good at receiving new memory files

第二個我們要講解的結構

and holding onto them.

稱為大腦皮質。

The second structure that we can speak about

這些大量皺皺的組織位於大腦的上方。

is called the cortex.

在深層睡眠期間

This wrinkled massive tissue that sits on top of your brain.

會有一個檔案傳輸的過程。

And during deep sleep,

把海馬迴想像成一個隨身碟，

there is this file-transfer mechanism.

而大腦皮質為一個硬碟。

Think of the hippocampus like a USB stick

白天，我們四處奔波收集很多檔案，

and your cortex like the hard drive.

然而在夜裏深層睡眠期間，

And during the day, we're going around

由於儲存容量有限，

and we're gathering lots of files,

我們需要把那些檔案從海馬迴

but then during deep sleep at night,

傳送到大腦的硬碟，即是大腦皮層。

because of that limited storage capacity,

這就是深層睡眠提供的

we have to transfer those files from the hippocampus

其中一個機制。

over to the hard drive of the brain, the cortex.

此外我們還發現另一個機制

And that's exactly one of the mechanisms

也幫助我們將記憶鞏固於大腦之中。

that deep sleep seems to provide.

這稱為重播。

But there's another mechanism that we've become aware of

數年前，

that helps cement those memories into the brain.

科學家在觀察老鼠到底是怎樣

And it's called replay.

學習逃出一個迷宮。

Several years ago,

他們把老鼠負責 記憶的大腦活動紀錄下來。

scientists were looking at how rats learned

隨著老鼠在迷宮裏走動，

as they would run around a maze.

不同的腦細胞會將迷宮內 不同的角落編碼。

And they were recording the activity in the memory centers of these rats.

如果你在每一個腦細胞內加入鈴聲，

And as the rat was running around the maze,

隨著老鼠在學習迷宮，你聽到的會是

different brain cells would code different parts of the maze.

對於回憶的記認。

And so if you added a tone to each one of the brain cells

而它聽起來會有點像……

what you would hear as the rat was starting to learn the maze

（充滿活力的鋼琴音樂）

was the signature of that memory.

這正是我們能聽到學習的記認。

So it would sound a little bit like ...

可科學家卻做了些聰明的事情。

(Bouncy piano music)

當老鼠睡著時， 他們持續聆聽著牠們的大腦，

It was this signature of learning that we could hear.

而他們聽到的很異乎尋常。

But then they did something clever.

老鼠在睡覺時，

They kept listening to the brain as these rats fell asleep,

會開始回放同樣的記認。

and what they heard was remarkable.

可是現在重播的速度比清醒時

The rat, as it was sleeping,

快了差不多十倍。

started to replay that same memory signature.

所以你現在反而會開始聽到……

But now it started to replay it almost 10 times faster

（充滿活力的快速鋼琴音樂）

than it was doing when it was awake.

那似乎是第二種方式

So now instead you would start to hear ...

在這當中睡眠正強化那些回憶。

(Fast bouncy piano music)

睡眠其實將記憶重播和記錄

That seems to be the second way

在腦內的一個新迴路之中，

in which sleep can actually strengthen these memories.

並加強對那段記憶的描述。

Sleep is actually replaying and scoring those memories

睡眠有益於記憶的最後一種方式

into a new circuit within the brain,

就是整合和聯繫。

strengthening that memory representation.

事實上，我們現在知道

The final way in which sleep is beneficial for memory

睡眠比我們想像中還要更加聰穎。

is integration and association.

睡眠不僅加強獨立的記憶，

In fact, we're now learning that sleep

睡眠其實還靈巧地讓新記憶互相聯繫。

is much more intelligent than we ever imagined.

因此，

Sleep doesn't just simply strengthen individual memories,

你第二天能夠在

sleep will actually cleverly interconnect new memories together.

修訂過且覆蓋全腦的聯繫網中醒來，

And as a consequence,

我們能為之前無解的問題 提供解決方法。

you can wake up the next day

這這很可能就是

with a revised mind-wide web of associations,

從未有人要你挑燈夜戰 解決問題的原因。

we can come up with solutions to previously impenetrable problems.

相反地， 他們會告訴你 遇上問題時要睡一覺，

And this is probably the reason

而這正是科學教我們的事。

that you've never been told to stay awake on a problem.

Instead, you're told to sleep on a problem,

and that's exactly what the science teaching us.