October Institute Items

Institute Institute of Applied Agriculture • University of Maryland • October 2014 Items At the ‘tute Congratulations! You’ve made it through the first month of school. Now, go take a nap. You heard me. Power off your TV, computer, iphone, ipad, and ipod.... More

Institute Institute of Applied Agriculture • University of Maryland • October 2014 Items At the ‘tute Congratulations! You’ve made it through the first month of school. Now, go take a nap. You heard me. Power off your TV, computer, iphone, ipad, and ipod. Unplug your earbuds and go to sleep. No! Not during class. Go to bed and get a good, solid 7 to 8 hours of sleep. Why? Sleep enhances memory, boosts creativity, reduces stress, and improves health—all vital for college students preparing for exams. In her book The Secret World of Sleep, neuroscientist Penelope Lewis says sleeping works like a good spring cleaning for the brain. Cerebrospinal fluid washes through the brain’s crevices flushing out toxins that could potentially rob the brain of memory. At night, once freed from the day’s distractions, your brain determines what to store in long-term memory (plant diseases) and what can be forgotten (color of friend’s shoelaces). In addition, sleep helps procedural memory, the kind used t Less