Colin Snow
Newborns spend most of their time sleeping, and scientists have long wondered if learning occurs during this time. Recent studies have shown that newborns can process outside information while they sleep, such as speech sounds. This has led to the discovery of infants' statistical-learning abilities, which offer a theory of language learning beyond parental conditioning. While it is still unknown whether this quality is unique to infants, research suggests that sleep can help with language learning. For example, hearing the meanings of previously learned foreign language words during sleep can help boost explicit memory. Additionally, infants who gaze into their parents' eyes receive key social cues that aid in the next stage of language learning.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Can newborns learn language while sleeping? | Yes, newborns can process some outside information while they're asleep, such as sounds of speech. |
| How do newborns learn language while sleeping? | Newborns can learn to link sounds to actions while sleeping. For example, researchers played a musical tone followed by a puff of air to sleeping infants' eyelids. After several repeats, the researchers played the tone without the air puff, and the infants scrunched their faces in anticipation of the puff of air. |
| Why do newborns learn language while sleeping? | The baby's brain is "primed" to learn language. Babies are born with billions of brain cells, including millions that will control language. |
| How do newborns distinguish different languages? | Newborns can distinguish several hundred sounds, many more than are present in any one language. As a baby hears people speak a certain language repeatedly, the brain strengthens connections for that language. |
| How can parents help newborns learn language? | Parents can play language games with their babies, sing to them, recite nursery rhymes, and read aloud to them. Interacting with a baby is one of the best ways for them to experience language. |
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What You'll Learn
Newborns can process outside information while sleeping
Newborns spend most of their time sleeping, and scientists have long wondered if learning occurs during this time. Recent research has found that newborns can process some external information while they sleep. For example, they can process the sounds of speech.
In one study, researchers played a brief musical tone followed by a puff of air to the eyelids of sleeping infants. The babies scrunched their faces in response to the puff of air. After several repetitions, the researchers played the tone without the puff of air, and most infants scrunched their faces in anticipation. This suggests that the infants could learn the relationship between the tone and the puff of air while asleep.
Another study found that babies exposed to paired tones and air puffs showed changes in their brain wave activity when the tone sounded, indicating that they had learned to associate the tone with the puff even while sleeping. These findings demonstrate that newborn infants are capable of learning about relationships between events while asleep.
Additionally, newborns are born with billions of brain cells, including millions that will control language. They can perceive the full set of phonemes, the sounds that can be combined to form words in any language. During the second half of their first year, infants enter a "sensitive period" when their brains are primed to receive the first lessons in language. This is when they start to distinguish between the sounds of different languages.
While newborns can process outside information and learn while sleeping, it is still unclear whether this ability is unique to infants or if it also occurs in older children and adults. However, studies have shown that vocabulary played during certain sleep cycles may help with language retention, suggesting that sleep can play a role in language learning even beyond the newborn stage.
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Babies can learn to link events while sleeping
Newborns spend most of their time sleeping, and scientists have long wondered if learning occurs during sleep. Recent studies have shown that infants can process some external information while they sleep, such as speech sounds. This has led to research investigating whether newborns could learn about relationships between events during sleep.
In a study conducted by NIH-funded researchers, 1- or 2-day-old infants were played a brief musical tone followed by a faint puff of air to their eyelids. The babies scrunched their faces in response to the puff of air. After several repetitions, the researchers played the tone without the puff of air. After some time, most of the infants continued to scrunch their faces in anticipation of the puff of air, even when only the tone was played. This indicated that the infants had learned to associate the tone with the puff of air while they were asleep.
Brain wave activity measurements supported these findings, showing changes in activity when the tone was played after exposure to the paired tones and puffs of air. This provided further evidence that the sleeping infants had learned to link the two events. This study was the first to demonstrate that newborn infants are capable of learning about relationships between events while asleep.
The discovery of infants' ability to learn while sleeping has excited scientists about the potential for using sleep to aid in language development, especially for babies at risk of language disorders. While the exact mechanism of night-time learning is not yet understood, it is suspected that, unlike adults, babies do not "turn off" their cerebral cortex during sleep, allowing them to continue processing information.
While the ability to learn during sleep may fade during the first year of life, it highlights the importance of consistent quality sleep for infants' learning and development. Additionally, it provides insight into how infants can be primed for language learning from birth, even before they can actively respond with words.
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Newborns can distinguish several hundred sounds
A baby's brain is "primed" to learn language from birth. They are born with billions of brain cells, or neurons, including millions that will control language. As a baby hears people speak a certain language repeatedly, the brain strengthens connections for that language. The connections for languages that the baby does not hear become weaker and will eventually be lost.
During the first years of life, neurons connect with other cells to form complex pathways. When babies hear their native language spoken, the language connections in the brain become stronger. As babies continue to hear language and experiment with making sounds themselves, their language pathways grow and change. Most of the brain's language connections are well established by about age 10 to 12. After that time, learning a new language is still possible, but harder, because the brain is wired for the language learned first.
Research has shown that babies can learn while sleeping. For example, they can process outside information such as the sounds of speech while asleep. In one study, researchers played a brief musical tone followed by a puff of air to the eyelids of sleeping infants. The babies scrunched their faces when they felt the puff. After several repeats, the researchers played the tone without the puff of air, and most infants scrunched their faces in anticipation. This suggests that the sleeping infants had learned to link the tone to the puff of air.
Other studies have shown that vocabulary may stick when familiar words are played during certain sleep cycles, although complex grammar may be beyond the grasp of a sleeping person. Sleep can also help with language learning by boosting explicit memory of word meanings.
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Babies' brains are primed to learn language
Newborns spend most of their time sleeping, and scientists have long wondered if learning occurs during sleep. Recent studies have shown that newborns can process some external information while they sleep, such as speech sounds. This has led to the discovery that babies' brains are primed to learn language, even while they sleep.
Primed for Language Learning
Babies are born with billions of brain cells, or neurons, including millions that will control language. During the first years of life, these neurons form complex pathways by connecting with other cells. Newborns can distinguish several hundred sounds, many more than are present in any one language. As a baby hears their native language spoken, the language connections in the brain strengthen. The connections for languages that the baby does not hear weaken and are eventually lost. This is why it is harder to learn a new language as an adult, as the brain is already wired for the language learned first.
Social Cues and Live Interaction
Babies who gaze into their parents' eyes receive key social cues that help speed up language learning, specifically understanding the meaning of words. Young children who follow an adult's gaze tend to pick up more vocabulary in the first two years of life than those who do not. Live interaction is crucial for babies to experience language. Reading aloud to a baby helps them hear the sounds of language, and sharing a book helps build a love of reading. Singing, reciting nursery rhymes, and playing language games are also excellent ways to engage babies in language learning.
Sleep Learning
While it is not possible to learn a language entirely during sleep, research suggests that sleep can aid in language learning. Studies have shown that vocabulary may be retained when familiar words are played during certain sleep cycles, though complex grammar is likely beyond the scope of sleep learning. Additionally, hearing the meanings of previously learned foreign language words during sleep can boost explicit memory. Sleep learning programs aim to teach essential vocabulary in a target language, and some studies have shown that students who slept while listening to new vocabulary words remembered more than those who stayed awake.
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Sleep can improve memory of word pairs
Newborns can process some external information while sleeping, such as the sounds of speech. However, it is unclear whether newborns can learn language structures or vocabulary while sleeping.
Research suggests that sleep can improve memory retention, including word pairs. A 2015 Swiss study found that students who listened to new vocabulary words in a foreign language and then slept while the words were replayed remembered more of the words than a group that stayed awake. Another study from 2019, also by a Swiss team, found that those who learned new words during sleep were able to answer correctly about these words upon waking up.
Listening to recordings of word meanings in a foreign language during sleep can help boost explicit memory (conscious knowledge) of those meanings when awake. This is supported by a study that found hearing pink noise, a type of sound similar to white noise, during slow-wave sleep improved memory of word pairs. However, it is important to note that there is still much unknown about sleep learning, and many people experience sleep disruptions when they hear sounds during sleep.
While sleep may aid in memory retention, it is important to note that learning a language requires active engagement and interaction with others. Simply playing language recordings during sleep is not sufficient for comprehensive language acquisition. Language learning is a complex process that involves various cognitive functions and sensory inputs, and it is most effective when combined with conscious learning techniques and adequate sleep.
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Frequently asked questions
Research suggests that newborns can process some outside information while they’re asleep, such as the sounds of speech. However, it is unclear whether newborns can learn an entire language while sleeping.
Newborns are equipped to hear the sounds of any language in the world. They can distinguish several hundred sounds, many more than are present in any one language. As the baby hears people speak a certain language repeatedly, the brain strengthens connections for that language. Interacting with people is one of the best ways for a newborn to experience language.
Play language games with your newborn. When they make a sound, repeat it and add a new sound. Take turns talking with your newborn. Sing to them. Recite nursery rhymes. Read aloud to your newborn.
While it is unlikely that adults can learn a language while sleeping, some studies suggest that hearing the meanings of previously learned foreign language words during sleep can help boost explicit memory of those meanings when they are awake.
