The Secret to Learning Language is Sleep, Study Shows

A team of scientists have attributed a good nights rest as key for enhancing language learning.

Sleeping can enhance learning and language acquisition. Roman Samborskyi/Shutterstock

A new study by the University of South Australia has found certain events during sleep to aide those who are learning a new language.

The participants from the study consisted of 35 native English-speaking adults who learned a “miniature language” called Mini Pinyin, which is based on Mandarin (Chinese) but uses grammatical rules similar to English.

Half the participants studied the miniature language in the morning and were tested in the evening, while the other half studied in the evening, then slept overnight, and were tested the following morning. The study found those who slept fared much better than those who stayed awake.