It’s a good idea to keep a phrase book by your bed, and to learn a few extra words or phrases before you sleep. The reason for this is that learning new things at this time increases the amount of slow wave activity in the brain while you sleep. What research has shown is that people who have more of this type of brain activity through the night tend to perform better at the task the next day.
But the key point is learning – just going over things you already know won’t affect your slow wave activity. You brain needs to be changing, making new connections.
If you’re really hardcore, you could set your alarm for midway through your night’s rest, and learn a few more words then. That way, you’ll be learning prior to the next REM stage of sleep which should help. A similar technique is used in lucid dreaming.
