One of the main functions of the human brain is to create memoriesTrusted Source — the ability to retain and recall information over time.

Memories allow us to remember important events in our lives, the faces of those we know, and give us the ability to learn.

Special cells in the brain called neurons help create memories, which are then stored in the hippocampusTrusted Source area of the brain.

A number of lifestyle factors can help improve a person’s ability to create memories, including following a healthy dietTrusted Source, exeTrusted SourcerTrusted SourcecisingTrusted Source, meditationTrusted Source, and getting enough sleepTrusted Source.

“We have a bulk knowledge about sleep being better for our body to rest, for our memory to be better, but we do not yet understand all the details of how this happens,” Azahara Oliva, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Neurobiology and Behavior in the College of Arts and Sciences at Cornell University explained to Medical News Today.

“Once we start cracking the neural processes that are important for these many different things, we could use that to reverse detrimental conditions, such as memory impairment, during sleep,” she added.

Oliva is the corresponding author of a new study recently published in the journal Science, which found that during sleep, the hippocampus goes “silent” and allows neurons to “reset,” making them available to create new memories the next day, via a mouse model.

“We want to see what exactly the brain is doing during sleep that favors or disfavors memory,” Oliva said. “We [spend] about a third of our life sleeping — this is a lot of time. Understanding the relation between sleep and memory will provide insights into how we can tackle detrimental memory conditions.”