“Sleep-learning”, we observed in our 5 March 1970 issue “is big business in the Soviet Union.” A slew of studies, experiments and trials from behind the Iron Curtain showed an enthusiasm for pumping information, such as lists of foreign words, into people’s brains while they slept. Our article found that several Russian civil and military establishments were setting up dormitory facilities to practise the method. However the fervour wasn’t backed by much evidence.
We looked at an investigation into sleep-learning, led by D. J. Bruce, at London’s Maudsley Hospital. The aim of the experiment was to find out what effect…
