NCT04758663

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

• Status: Unknown
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 40 (estimated)
• Sponsor: University of Massachusetts, Amherst · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 33 Months – 71 Months
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

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

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	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.
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.

Timeline

• Start date: 2021-04-12
• Primary completion: 2022-06-30
• Completion: 2023-06-30
• First posted: 2021-02-17
• Last updated: 2021-05-13

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States