The Role of Naps and Overnight Sleep on Cognitive Learning in Preschoolers

NCT ID: NCT04758663

Last Updated: 2021-05-13

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: UNKNOWN
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 40 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2021-04-12
• Study Completion Date: 2023-06-30

Brief Summary

The goal of this research is to understand the role of sleep on memory function in early childhood. Specifically, we seek to examine how promoted naps vs. promoted waking in habitual and non-habitual napping children may impact overnight sleep physiology and subsequent memory consolidation.

Detailed Description

With time spent awake, sleepiness increases (i.e., sleep pressure; Borbely, 1982). In young adults, naps following sleep deprivation have significantly elevated slow wave activity (SWA; 1-4 Hz) relative to naps following normal overnight sleep (Werth et al., 1996). Similarly in preschool children, overnight sleep following nap deprivation yields significantly greater SWS relative to when a nap was taken earlier in the day (Lassonde et al., 2016). This impact on subsequent sleep physiology suggests that naps may be an extension of overnight sleep. How napping status (i.e., habitual and non-habitual napping) impacts overnight sleep physiology and subsequent memory consolidation is unknown. Thus, this study aims to investigate how napping vs. staying awake in habitual and non-habitual napping children may impact overnight sleep physiology and subsequent memory consolidation.

Conditions

Sleep

Study Design

• Allocation Method: NON_RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: BASIC_SCIENCE
• Blinding Strategy: NONE

Study Groups

Declarative memory

Napping v. wake effect on declarative memory in habitual and non-habitual nappers.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Nap/wake conditions on memory

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Habitual and non-habitual napping children will complete a two conditions-a nap condition where they are encouraged to nap in the afternoon and a wake condition where instead of napping, they spend an equal amount of time awake engaging in quiet activities.

Overnight Physiology

Napping v. wake effect on overnight physiology in habitual and non-habitual nappers.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Nap/wake conditions on overnight physiology

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Habitual and non-habitual napping children will complete a two conditions-a nap condition where they are encouraged to nap in the afternoon and a wake condition where instead of napping, they spend an equal amount of time awake engaging in quiet activities. On the nights of the nap and wake conditions, physiology will be recorded in habitual and non-habitual nappers.

Interventions

Nap/wake conditions on memory

Habitual and non-habitual napping children will complete a two conditions-a nap condition where they are encouraged to nap in the afternoon and a wake condition where instead of napping, they spend an equal amount of time awake engaging in quiet activities.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Nap/wake conditions on overnight physiology

Habitual and non-habitual napping children will complete a two conditions-a nap condition where they are encouraged to nap in the afternoon and a wake condition where instead of napping, they spend an equal amount of time awake engaging in quiet activities. On the nights of the nap and wake conditions, physiology will be recorded in habitual and non-habitual nappers.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Family lives within 30 miles of UMass Amherst
• Is 33-71 months at the time of enrollment
• Meets the definition of a habitual (5+ naps/week) or non-habitual (<2 naps/week) napper
• Normal or corrected-to-normal vision and hearing
• Access to a computer with an internet connection for online sessions with the research team.

Exclusion Criteria

• Diagnosis of any sleep disorder (other than mild parasomnia which is routine at this age) past or present
• Current use of psychotropic or sleep-altering medications
• Traveling beyond 1 time zone within 1 month of participation
• Fever or symptoms of respiratory illness at the time of participation
• Diagnosed developmental disability

• Minimum Eligible Age: 33 Months
• Maximum Eligible Age: 71 Months
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

University of Massachusetts, Amherst

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Rebecca Spencer

Associate Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

Rebecca M Spencer, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

University of Massachusetts, Amherst

Locations

University of Massachusetts

Amherst, Massachusetts, United States

Site Status: RECRUITING

Countries

United States

Central Contacts

Sanna Lokhandwala, MS

Role: CONTACT

slokhandwala@umass.edu

8323821611

Rebecca M Spencer, PhD

Role: CONTACT

rspencer@umass.edu

413-548-5661

Facility Contacts

Rebecca M Spencer, PhD

Role: primary

rspencer@umass.edu

413-548-5661

Other Identifiers

2021-2488

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id