THE EFFECTS OF SLEEP ON PROSPECTIVE MEMORY

Abstract

Prospective memory (PM) enables the timely execution of previously conceived intentions. Although a facilitatory role of sleep in PM has been documented, evidence is mixed. Moreover, questions remain regarding how age influences this relationship and the sleep features involved. These gaps were addressed with a meta-analysis and three experiments. A quantitative review found that sleep significantly benefits PM via the spontaneous retrieval of intentions. Experiments I and II examined the sleep-PM relationship in a hitherto unstudied adolescent group and found that sleep did not benefit the prospective component of PM at either a long or short retention interval, but did improve the declarative component, suggesting that during adolescence, sleep has dissociative effects on PM components. Experiment III found that in young adults, a greater sleep benefit was associated with longer post-learning slow wave sleep. These findings clarify sleep’s role in PM which could sharpen strategies to improve PM.