It is very common to hear the phrase that says "children are like sponges" when talking about the learning and development of children. A series of recent experiments show that this is true and, what is more surprising, than in the case of Newborns are able to learn even when they are sleeping.
Experts from the University of Florida have carried out a series of tests in children of one and two days using an electroencephalogram to measure brain activity and a camcorder to record the facial expressions of each.
One of the experiments consisted of a machine that emitted a sound while blowing air gently in each eyelid of the baby. The babies, faced with such a stimulus, reacted by squeezing the face. The test was repeated nine times and at the tenth the noise was emitted, but not the blow.
After 20 minutes repeating the sequence, 24 of the 26 children studied contracted the face in response to the sound, regardless of whether it was accompanied by a breath or not.
Meanwhile, the electroencephalogram recorded changes in infants' brain activity the moment they heard the sound, a fact that demonstrates that the babies learned to associate stimulation and response while sleeping.
Other babies, as a control group, were subjected to sounds and blows irregularly, without associating with each other and the babies did not get to make the association between sound and grimace.
Given this ability of newborns, the researchers concluded that “babies are better students than we thought”, since This type of learning, while sleeping, does not occur in adults.
It is certainly a curious experiment and it is surprising to realize that they are developing even when they are sleeping. We already knew that sleeping served babies and children to consolidate what they learned during the waking period, if it also helps them to continue learning, it is clear that babies are trained to try to adapt to the world they reach as soon as possible (Or so it seems).
