Should we all just take 10? A meta-analysis of wakeful rest

Bibliographic Data

ID21640587
AuthorsDaniela Parra (0000-0002-5989-8500, University of Notre Dame, corresponding author), Zhiyong Zhang (0000-0003-1622-3447), Gabriel A Radvansky (0000-0001-7846-839X, University of Notre Dame)
Year2026
Volume33
Issue1
Pages49-49
Publication date2026-01-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePsychonomic Bulletin & Review (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1069-9384 • E-ISSN: 1531-5320
PublisherSpringer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.3758/s13423-025-02778-3
PMID41540313
OpenAlexW7124417703
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited58

According to previous research, if people rest quietly for a brief period of time after learning, they have better memory (i.e., reduced forgetting) after a delay compared to when they engage in a cognitively demanding task. We call this the wakeful rest effect . It has been observed with different kinds of study items, interference tasks, and delay intervals involving younger adults, older adults, and patients with amnesia. Despite the sometimes-presumed robustness of the effect, many studies have failed to observe significant results, particularly in healthy young adult populations. This random-effects meta-analysis combined 142 effect sizes from 51 studies to evaluate the evidence for the wakeful rest effect and to identify the sources of variation. Meta-regression was also done. As expected, there were larger effects for patient populations than for healthy populations, as well as weaker effects for younger than older adults. The results of this meta-analysis can inform further research on the potential benefits of wakeful rest

Cognition · Working memory · Young adult · Cognitive Functions and Memory · Mind wandering and attention · Sleep and Wakefulness Research

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