Memory AAQ (SA)

Title: "Sleep Improves Memory: The Effect of Sleep on Long-Term Memory in Early Adolescence"

Introduction:
The study investigates how sleep impacts long-term memory retention in adolescents. Previous research indicates that sleep plays a crucial role in memory consolidation, particularly for declarative memory, which involves facts and information. This study aims to determine whether these effects are observable in younger populations.

Participants:
The study involved randomly selected 37 adolescents, aged approximately 12.6 years. Each group was asked to sign a consent form prior to participation. The participants were divided into two groups: a sleep group and a no-sleep group. The sleep group consisted of 19 subjects, and the no-sleep group had 18 subjects. Both groups were balanced in terms of age and other demographic factors to ensure comparability. 

Procedures:
Participants were instructed to learn paired-associates (a memory task involving learning pairs of items) in the evening. The sleep group then slept overnight, while the no-sleep group stayed awake. Both groups were tested on their memory retention the following morning. The study also included a control task (the letter-number test) to assess working memory, ensuring any observed effects were specific to long-term memory and not general cognitive function.

Results:
The sleep group showed significantly better performance on the paired-associate test compared to the no-sleep group, indicating that sleep improved long-term memory retention. Specifically, the sleep group had a 32.7% increase in memory retention compared to the no-sleep group. The control task results showed no significant difference between the two groups, suggesting that the improvement was specific to long-term memory consolidation and not due to general cognitive differences between the groups.

This study provides strong evidence that sleep significantly enhances long-term memory retention in adolescents, supporting the idea that sleep is crucial for effective memory consolidation​​.

Identify Research Method used in study

 State Operational Definition of the identified variable from study

Describe the identified statistic in relation to the study

Identify at least one ethical guideline applied in the study

Explain the extent to which the study is Generalizable using evidence from the study

Use a specific result from the study to explain how the results support or refute the concept or hypothesis from the study