Effect of sleep on gross motor memory

Abstract

Sleep has a beneficial effect on consolidation of newly learned fine motor skills. The aim of the current study was to determine whether sleep has a similar beneficial effect on consolidation of gross motor skills. A total of 70 participants were randomly assigned to either a Sleep-Wake group or a Wake-Sleep group and were trained on an arm coordinated reaching task as a gross motor skill. Initial training occurred in the evening for the Sleep-Wake group and in the morning for the Wake-Sleep group. All participants attended two test sessions 12 and 24 hours following the initial training. Gross motor skill performance improved in both groups following a night of sleep but not after a day of wakefulness. These findings may have implications for learning of new gross motor skills in a range of activities from dance to motor rehabilitation.

Keywords:

• Consolidation
• Learning
• Memory
• Motor skills
• Sleep

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This research was supported by a University of New South Wales Faculty of Science Research Grant to J. Richmond. Thanks to A/Professor Peter Liu for helpful comments on this manuscript and Christopher Brandon Miller for statistical advice.