A new US study suggests that grabbing forty winks at lunchtime may aid the memory, providing the facts have been well learned in the first place.

‘Declarative memory’ refers to textbook-style learning, as opposed to skill-based learning which is called ‘procedural memory’. According to researchers at Harvard Medical School’s Centre for Sleep and Cognition, the sleeping process appears to help cement declarative memories, thereby making them simpler to recollect. Lead researcher Matthew Tucker, a Harvard postdoctoral fellow, commented, ‘Sleep appears to have an impact on what is learned well, but not so much when one is not motivated to learn’.

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American researchers have undertaken a study which utilised the internet to increase levels of participation in physical activity.

In the study, 249 sedentary adults were recruited to partake in an experimental exercise program. The participants were divided into three groups; a supportive and motivational internet-based program; a print-based version of this internet-based program; or internet links to credible online exercise programs administered by medical and fitness professionals.

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