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

Sleep Clinical Trial

Official title:

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

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Recruiting

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT04758663
• Other study ID #: 2021-2488
• Status: Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: April 12, 2021
• Est. completion date: June 30, 2023

Study information

• Verified date: May 2021
• Source: University of Massachusetts, Amherst
• Contact: Sanna Lokhandwala, MS
• Phone: 8323821611
• Email: slokhandwala[@]umass.edu
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial 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.

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.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Recruiting
• Enrollment: 40
• Est. completion date: June 30, 2023
• Est. primary completion date: June 30, 2022
• Accepts healthy volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers
• Gender: All
• Age group: 33 Months to 71 Months

Eligibility

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

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Sleep

Intervention

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.
• 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.

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
United States	University of Massachusetts	Amherst	Massachusetts

Sponsors (1)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
University of Massachusetts, Amherst

Country where clinical trial is conducted

United States, 

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Overnight sleep physiology	Amount of slow wave activity and other non-REM sleep features in overnight sleep following a day where a nap was involved compared to when there was no nap earlier in the day.	9-11 hours of sleep overnight
Secondary	Change in memory accuracy	Accuracy on the memory task following the nap compared to before the nap relative to the same memory change measured over an interval spent awake. Further, accuracy on the memory task 24hrs later compared to before the nap/wake interval.	2-3 hours/24 hours