Volunteers needed for sleep study

The effect of sleep on learning is the focus of a new study by University of Queensland (UQ) researchers — and they’re looking for volunteers to help them out.

As explained by Professor David Copland, of the UQ School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, the aim of the study is to gain a better understanding of how overnight sleep can influence learning new words.

“Increased knowledge of whether learning words can be aided by sleep can help speech pathologists determine the best circumstances for adults to learn new words and relearn familiar words after brain injury,” Prof Copland said.

“This could potentially lead to improved treatments and better outcomes for adults with language difficulties due to various conditions, such as stroke.”

The research team is seeking healthy adults aged between 18–30 years to assist with the study. Participants will attend three sessions at UQ’s St Lucia campus, over a period of 24 hours.

The sessions will involve completing some computerised language learning and general thinking tasks, and sleep-related questionnaires. Participants will also be asked to wear an Actigraph accelerometer during the study, and to provide information about their daily sleep patterns, exercise and caffeine intake.

More details about the study can be found in this information sheet. All participants will also be eligible to enter a prize draw to win one of two $100 Coles-Myer gift vouchers.

People interested in taking part in the study can register online or contact project lead Emma Schimke via e.schimke@uq.edu.au.

Follow us on Twitter and Facebook for the latest industry news. To receive our bimonthly magazine and weekly newsletters, click here.