hi all-

The New York Times on Oct.23rd had an article on
"sleep research" that I believe may help us help our
students progress on skates.


Here's an excerpt from the article written by Benedict
Carey--

In series of experiments that he began in the early
1990s, Dr. Carlyle Smith of Trent University in Canada
has found a strong association between the amount of
Stage 2 sleep a person gets and the improvement in
learning motor tasks. Mastering a guitar, a hockey
stick or a keyboard are all motor tasks.
Musicians, among others, have sensed this for ages. A
piece that frustrates the fingers during evening
practice often flows in the morning. But only in
recent years has the science caught up and given their
instincts a practical shape.
For instance, Dr. Smith said that people typically
got most of their Stage 2 sleep in the second half of
the night. “The implication of this is that if you are
preparing for a performance, a music recital, say, or
skating performance, it’s better to stay up late than
get up really early,” he said in an interview. “These
coaches that have athletes or other performers up at 5
o’clock in the morning, I think that’s just crazy.”



The entire article is very interesting and can be
found at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/31/health/psychology/31subl.html

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