A researcher investigates how sleep affects learning a new complex motor skill, like a sequence of finger taps. Group A learns the skill and then gets a full, uninterrupted night of sleep. Group B learns the same skill, but their sleep is monitored, and they are awakened whenever they enter the deep, slow-wave stages of sleep. The next day, Group A shows significant improvement in the skill, while Group B shows almost no improvement. Based on the design and outcome of this experiment, what is the most likely conclusion about the relationship between sleep and motor skill consolidation?