Katie Wade used to gather her books and head to the library the night before a test to study until she was kicked out the building.But when Wade, agriculture sophomore, received an economics test back she realized pulling an all-nighter before a test was a mistake.”I just was hoping to recognize something … but I didn’t,” Wade said. “Cramming was just not effective.”  Sleeping is a well-known factor for helping students remember information, said Janet McDonald, psychology professor.Marcos Frank, assistant professor of Neuroscience at the University of Pennsylvania, researched how sleep affects a person’s brain in a recent study.While most behavioral studies show sleep has an impact on a person’s long-term memory, not many studies address how the process works, Frank said. “If you really want to know what’s going on during sleep, you have to look at some brainwave change,” he said. The research pin-points a specific molecule, abbreviated as NMDAR, which is a receptor turning on the other functions in the brain after a person is asleep, Frank said.During the testing period, the animals had to be asleep for the receptor to send the signals through the brain and begin to connect the different cells, Frank said. The changes in the brain only happened when the animals were asleep, he said.When a person goes to sleep, it allows the brain to consolidate memories, McDonald said. After a student studies for a test, they should go to sleep to retain the information properly, she said.Cullen Koppans, business sophomore, said it is hard for him to find time to study for a test until the night before. Koppans said he studies all night for his essay tests, but he can’t remember most of the information the week after the test. “[Students] are really in school to remember things for their lifetime,” McDonald said. The information from a test is used in a student’s future, which is a good reason to find time to sleep before an important test, she said.”Cramming is a bad way to retain information,” said Sean Lane, psychology professor.  “[It] might help you to get over a test or quiz, but … if you have a cumulative final, you’re not going to remember.” A student needs about six hours of sleep to receive any benefits to their memory, Lane said. “It takes a while to get to these deeper stages of sleep,” Lane said. “You can’t just [recall memories] by sleeping a short amount of time.” When a person sleeps, the brain can return to a minimum level of activity, said Emily Elliot, psychology professor. The study is trying to explain how sleep can change the molecular functions, she said.The brain is active at night, McDonald said. Not only can a person recall facts, but learning a new skill is benefited by sleep, she said.——Contact Joy Lukachick at [email protected]