generally , methods and apparatus are provided for idle cycle refresh request in a dynamic random access memory . according to one aspect of the invention , a dynamic random access memory is refreshed by determining if a refresh of the dynamic random access memory is required ; and allocating an idle cycle sequence to refresh at least a portion of the dynamic random access memory only if the determining step determines that a refresh of the dynamic random access memory is required . a refresh flag can optionally be set if a refresh is required . the idle cycle sequence comprises one or more idle cycles . the idle cycle sequence can optionally be allocated within a predefined duration of the refresh flag being set . the step of determining step whether a refresh of the dynamic random access memory is required can be based on real - time or expected conditions .