The Benefits of Naps on Cognitive, Emotional, and Motor Learning in Preschoolers

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

TERMINATED

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

361 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2017-09-01

Study Completion Date

2022-06-30

Brief Summary

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The specific objective of the proposed research is to examine whether naps contribute to immediate and delayed benefits on multiple forms of learning in young children (3-5 yrs). By probing recall prior to and following mid-day nap or wake intervals, the overarching hypothesis is that recent memories are actively processed (as opposed to passively protected) by a nap, conferring immediate or delayed (24-hrs) benefits on declarative (Aim 1), procedural (Aim 2), and emotional (Aim 3) memories. In two conditions, children will either be nap-promoted or wake-promoted midday. Subsequently, performance will be reassessed that day as well as the following day.

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Detailed Description

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The proposed research examines whether naps contribute to immediate and delayed benefits on multiple forms of learning in preschool-aged children (3-5 yrs). By probing recall prior to and following mid-day nap or wake intervals, we will examine immediate memory performance and how it is changed by an interval with a nap compared to if that interval was spent awake. There are three arm, separately assessing declarative (using a storybook learning task), procedural (using a mirror tracing task), and emotional (using an emotional storybook task). All children will participate in a nap and wake condition. On the experimental day, children will learn the task, then be nap or wake promoted (within subject, conditions counterbalanced and separated by 1 week). Subsequently, performance will be reassessed that day as well as the following day. Children will wear an actigraph watch for a 16-day interval surrounding the experimental days in order to access habitual sleep patterns (e.g., nap frequency). A subset of children will complete the experimental days in the sleep laboratory. For these children, sleep will be measured using polysomnography, a montage of electroencepholography, electromyography, and electrooculography electrodes.

Conditions

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Sleep

Study Design

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Allocation Method

NON_RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Within subject comparison of nap and wake conditions

Primary Study Purpose

BASIC_SCIENCE

Blinding Strategy

NONE

Within-subject; participants/experimenters are aware of conditions

Study Groups

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Declarative memory

Napping v. wake effect on a declarative memory task (storybook)

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Napping

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Children nap during the nap opportunity

Procedural memory

Napping v. wake effect on a procedural memory task (motor sequence learning or mirror tracing)

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Napping

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Children nap during the nap opportunity

Emotional memory

Napping v. wake effect on an emotional memory task (emotional faces or storybook)

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Napping

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Children nap during the nap opportunity

Interventions

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Napping

Children nap during the nap opportunity

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* be enrolled in a preschool testing site or available to come into the lab

Exclusion Criteria

* Diagnosis of any sleep disorder(other than mild parasomnia) past or present
* Current use of psychotropic or sleep-altering medications
* traveling beyond 1 time zone within 1 month of testing
* fever or symptoms of respiratory illness at the time of testing
* physical handicap which interferes with assessments (vision, hearing impairment)
* diagnosed developmental disability

Minimum Eligible Age

33 Months

Maximum Eligible Age

60 Months

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes