Goodnight book: sleep consolidation improves word learning via storybooks.

Sophie E. Williams,Jessica S. Horst

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00184

Abstract

Reading the same storybooks repeatedly helps preschool children learn words. In addition, sleeping shortly after learning also facilitates memory consolidation and aids learning in older children and adults. The current study explored how sleep promotes word learning in preschool children using a shared storybook reading task. Children were either read the same story repeatedly or different stories and either napped after the stories or remained awake. Children's word retention were tested 2.5 h later, 24 h later, and 7 days later. Results demonstrate strong, persistent effects for both repeated readings and sleep consolidation on young children's word learning. A key finding is that children who read different stories before napping learned words as well as children who had the advantage of hearing the same story. In contrast, children who read different stories and remained awake never caught up to their peers on later word learning tests. Implications for educational practices are discussed.

Highlights

Young children frequently ask for a favorite story to be read repeatedly (Sulzby, 1985)— at bedtime (Sénéchal and LeFevre, 2001; Burke et al, 2004)
In the current study we explore how shared storybook reading immediately before a period of sleep facilitates preschool children’s word learning
THE CURRENT STUDY In the current study we explored how sleep promotes word learning in preschool children using a shared storybook reading task

Summary

Introduction

Young children frequently ask for a favorite story to be read repeatedly (Sulzby, 1985)— at bedtime (Sénéchal and LeFevre, 2001; Burke et al, 2004). This may be highly beneficial because repeatedly reading the same stories facilitates word learning (Sénéchal, 1997; Horst et al, 2011; McLeod and McDade, 2011; Wilkinson and Houston-Price, 2013) and reading stories can reduce the length of the bedtime routine (Field and Hernandez-Reif, 2001). Children who heard the same story repeatedly demonstrated significantly better word learning than children who heard the diverse storybook once. The amount of time children spent engaged in reading was less for children who only heard one story (see Horst, 2013, for further review of methodological concerns)

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion