A new study has found that as little as a short nap in the afternoon can help improve brain function, recovery, boost learning abilities and is enough to reorganise connections between nerve cells that enable the brain store new information more effectively.
Lead researcher in the study, Prof. Christoph Nissen of the University of Freiburg, Germany, said sleep helps to regulate the excessive activity of the brain during the day, helping it retain information without losing important details.
The study, published January 22, 2026, in the journal NeuroImage, by researchers from the University of Freiburg, Medical Center, Germany, Geneva University Hospitals, HUG and University of Geneva, UNIGE, showed that until now, brain recovery and reset were only known to occur after a full night’s sleep.
But the extensive study found that a short sleep period can relieve the brain and put it back into a state of readiness to learn, a process that is particularly beneficial for situations of high workload.
Prof. Nissen, who led the study during his time as medical director of the sleep center at the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy at the University of Freiburg, Germany, said, “Our results suggest that even short periods of sleep enhance the brain’s capacity to encode new information.”
The study found that “The brain is constantly active during the day, new impressions, thoughts, and information are processed, strengthening the connections between nerve cells (synapses). These strengthened synaptic connections are an important neural basis for learning processes. However, they also lead to saturation, so that the brain’s ability to learn further decreases over time. Sleep helps to regulate this excessive activity again without losing important information.
“The study shows that this ‘synaptic reset’ can happen with just an afternoon nap, clearing space for new memories to form, Prof Nissen says.
Prof Kai Spiegelhalder, head of the Section for Psychiatric Sleep Research and Sleep Medicine at the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy at the University Medical Center Freiburg, said the research helps us understand how important even short periods of sleep are for mental recovery, a short nap can help you think more clearly and continue working with concentration.”
The research reportedly examined 20 healthy young adults who either took a nap or stayed awake on two afternoons. The afternoon nap lasted on average 45 minutes. Since direct measurements on synapses in healthy humans are not possible, the research team used established, non-invasive methods such as transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and EEG measurements to draw conclusions about the strength and flexibility of the synapses.
The results showed that after the nap, the overall strength of synaptic connections in the brain was reduced, a sign of the restorative effect of sleep, while the brain’s ability to form new connections was significantly improved.
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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