Australian Journal of Psychology

Vol. 15, No. I, 1963

THE LONG RANGE EFFECT OF SLEEP

ON RETENTION
ALAN RICHARDSON and JOHN ERIC GOUGH
University of Western Australia

A test is made of the hypothesis that a greater number of nonsense

syllables will be retained after intervals of 24, 48 and 144 hours when
learning is followed immediately by 8 hours sleep than when learning
is followed by normal waking activities. The results for the 144-hour
interval support the hypothesis at the #<-or level of confidence but the
differences at 48 and 24 hours are decreasing and insignificant. The possible
roles of consolidation and interference are discussed and the need for
further research into the critical period necessary for consolidation to
occur is emphasized.

Since the pioneer investigations of hours there was a statistically signi-

Heine (1914) and of Jenkins and
Dallenbach (1924) there have been
several important studies reporting
the effect of sleep on retention (Dahl,
1928; van Ormer, 1932; Newman,
1939; Minami & Dallenbach, 1946).
The evidence is fairly clear, at least
for nonsense syllables, that when
learning is immediately followed by
8 hours sleep less is forgotten than
when learning is immediately fol-
lowed by an equivalent period of
waking activity. The advantage of
the sleep condition over the waking
is apparent after 2 to 4 hours sleep
and this advantage typically in-
creases to a maximum after an inter-
val of 8 hours sleep.
Two other studies which have re-
ceived scant recognition in the gen-
eral literature on memory processes
have been concerned with the rela-
tively long range effects of sleep on
retention. Graves ( I 937) used herself
as a subject and tested retention by
the savings method. She found that
for a 24 or 48 hour interval there
was an insignificant difference in
favour of the waking condition, but
that for intervals of 72, 96 and 144
37
cant difference in favour of the
sleep condition (pc.01). However
this experiment is open to criticism
on the grounds that the experimen-
ter was her own S and no controlled
method of presenting the nonsense
syllables was employed. In a more
adequately controlled experiment,
Gibb (1937) used six Ss and
measured retention by the savings
method after intervals of 24, 48, 72
and 96 hours. Each S had two ex-
perimental sessions for each time in-
terval and under both sleep and
waking conditions. The results of
this study showed an insignificant
difference in favour of the waking
condition for the 24 hour interval, a
highly significant difference in
favour of the sleep condition for the
48 hour interval (p<-or) and insig-
nificant and decreasing differences in
favour of sleep after intervals of 72
and 96 hours.
Criticism of the Gibb experiment
may be made on three counts. As
the Ss relearned an old list and then
learned a new list in most experi-
mental sessions it is difficult to assess
the extent of interference effects. In
38 Alan Richardson and John Eric Gough
at least one of the learning sessions of them reported that they were
a room-mate of one of the students normally asleep soon after mid-
was present. Ss were allowed to sleep night.
during the day if they wished.
The general purpose of the pre- Task
sent study is to provide further evi- Six lists of 10 three-letter non-
dence for or against the hypothesis sense syllables were constructed on
that sleep following learning has ad- the basis of lists reported by Hilgard
vantageous long range effects on re- (I 951). The average association
tention. values of the 6 lists ranged from
The specific hypothesis to be 22.7 to 27.3.
tested may be stated as follows : that
a greater number of nonsense syll-
Apparatus
ables will be retained after intervals
of 24,48 and 144hours when learn- An electrically operated memory
ing is followed immediately by 8 drum of local design was used to
hours sleep than when learning is present the syllables. Each syllable
followed by normal waking ac- was exposed for I -6secs with an in-
tivities. terval of 5-5 secs before the list was
repeated. Only one list was learned
METHOD in each experimental session. The
Subjects criterion for both learning and re-
I 8 male university students hav-
learning was three successive error-
ing a mean age of 1 9 years served less repetitions. No practice trials
as Ss. All were residents at a Roman were given and the method of serial
Catholic Residential College and all anticipation was employed.
but five of them were first year
students. Procedure
Scores on the A.C.E.R. B4o intelli- The morning and evening trials
gence test and on the Cattell 16PF were arranged on the basis of each
test were available for most Ss. The S’s typical waking and retiring time.
mean I.Q. was 124and no marked Three times were selected for morn-
deviations from normal were found ing trials: 7.30, 7.50 and 8.10,and
on the 16 PF test. A 43-item pre- for the evening trials I 1.20, 11.40
experimental interview schedule and 1 2 midnight. Those S s who re-
was used to investigate typical tired latest usually rose latest and
weekly timetables, daily routines, vice versa, thus making it possible
sleeping habits and so on. to arrange them in groups of three
All Ss claimed to have no diffi- so that their experimental sessions
culty in going to sleep, their esti- synchronized fairly well with their
mates ranging from 5 to 20 minutes. sleeping habits. For the evening
All claimed to be reasonably sound trials each S had to be completely
sleepers and to be well adapted to ready for bed including final toilet-
the typical noises associated with life ing and devotional exercises. When
in a residential college. Waking in the learning or relearning trials had
the morning for these Ss varied been completed the S immediately
from 7 o’clock to 8 o’clock and most got into bed and the experimenter
 The L o n g Range Eflect of Sleep o n Retention 39
turned out the light before leaving Though each S knew from the be-
the room. ginning of the study the dates and
A partially balanced design was times on which his experimental
used in which each S had a total of sessions would fall, no information
1 2 sessions. Each of the 18 Ss was was given as to which would be a
tested for retention under sleeping learning session and which a re-
and waking conditions for each in- learning.
terval. The schedule used with the The problem of rehearsal has been
first 6 Ss (A to F) is shown in Table I present in all studies of this kind
and was repeated with Ss G to L and and the only control employed has
M to R. The whole pattern was re- been verbal instruction by the ex-
peated for the relearning situation. perimenter not to rehearse or to dis-
TABLE
I

Simple Testing Schedule

Subject
A B C D E F
24s '44W 24W 144s 48W
24W '44s 48W
48s 24s '44W 48s
48W 24s '44W z4W 144s
24w 144s '44W
48s
144s 48W 24s I44W 24w
'44W 48s 24w 144s 48W 24s
As no significant diurnal varia- cuss. This method was employed in
tion in learning efficiency was found the present investigation. In the
for any of the Ss no correction for post-experimental interview all Ss
this potential source of bias was affirmed that they had not rehearsed
necessary. The mean number of the syllables. All Ss reported slight
trials required to learn lists in the but very general discussion of the
evening was 20-7 compared with a experiment but none of them had
mean of 20.5 for the morning guessed its purpose and no details
sessions. were discussed by any S .
There were no significant differ-
RESULTS
ences in the difficulty level of the
six lists used, nor were any signifi- The significance of the difference
cant practice effects obtained. between the group mean scores for

TABLE
2

Means, standard deviations and tests for the significance of the differences
between mean group saving scores (in percentages) for sleep and waking
conditions for each time interval
-~ ~

24 hours 48 hours 144 h w r s

Sleep Waking Sleep Waking Sleep Waking

Means 77.30 78.40 77-70 73.20 71'40 55-50

S.DS 12.87 909 9-96 13.88 11-32 1599
t 0'32 1-46 3'45
PC 080 020 0'01
 40 Alan Richardson and ]ohn Eric Gough
the sleep and waking conditions was can be invoked to account for the
tested for each time interval using long term benefits of the sleep con-
the t test for means of related dition where the actual amount of
samples. time spent in sleeping and waking
The results summarized in Table 2 is the same. Under these conditions
provide partial support for the hypo- the opportunity for waking activity
thesis. A significant difference in to interfere with original learning is
favour of the sleep condition was equal and an explanation in terms of
found for the 144 hour interval interference alone would appear to
(pc-or).For the 48 hour interval an be inadeqate. However, it should
insignificant difference was obtained be noted that the equivocal results at
in favour of the sleep condition and 24 and 48 hours cannot be explained
for the 24 hour interval an insignifi- by either hypothesis.
cant difference was found in favour Though the evidence for the exis-
of the waking condition. tence of a consolidation process has
been considered inadequate in the
DISCUSSION
past, a recent review of the literature
These results provide some sup- by Glickman ( I 961) concludes, “the
port for the conclusions of previous overall weight of evidence certainly
investigators. If learning is followed favours the existence of some mech-
immediately by a period of approxi- anism of consolidation (in spite of
mately 8 hours sleep, retention at the fact that alternative explana-
the end of I++ hours will be superior tions are possible for many of the
to learning that is followed by wak- experiments which supposedly sup-
ing activities. Evidence from this ex- port the existence of such a pro-
periment is equivocal for the two cess).”
shorter intervals. From the behavioural evidence in
Assuming that the trend revealed this and related studies and from
in this and the two previous studies the neuro-physiological evidence
(Graves, 1937; Gibb, 1937) is not an cited by Glickman (1961)further re-
experimental artifact the question search on the concept of consolida-
must be asked as to why the pres- tion appears desirable. For the psy-
ence or absence of 8 hours sleep chologist one of the most obvious
immediately after learning should lines of enquiry is to obtain a more
in general aid the retention of non- exact knowledge of the critical
sense syllables over periods of up to period within which minimal inter-
I 44 hours. ference is essential if consolidation
The two related hypotheses that of the memory trace is to take place.
have been invoked most frequently
in an attempt to account for the REFERENCES
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 The Long Range Eflect of Sleep on Retention
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