Effect of sleep on gross motor memory

Sleep has a beneficial effect on consolidation of newly learned fine motor skills. The aim of the current study was to determine whether sleep has a similar beneficial effect on consolidation of gross motor skills. A total of 70 participants were randomly assigned to either a Sleep-Wake group or a Wake-Sleep group and were trained on an arm coordinated reaching task as a gross motor skill. Initial training occurred in the evening for the Sleep-Wake group and in the morning for the Wake-Sleep group. All participants attended two test sessions 12 and 24 hours following the initial training. Gross motor skill performance improved in both groups following a night of sleep but not after a day of wakefulness. These findings may have implications for learning of new gross motor skills in a range of activities from dance to motor rehabilitation.