Abstract
ABSTRACTNaps have been shown to benefit visuospatial learning in early childhood. This benefit has been associated with sleep spindles during the nap. However, whether young children's naps and their accompanying physiology benefit other forms of declarative learning is unknown. Using a novel storybook task, we found performance in children (N = 22, mean age = 51.23 months) was better following a nap compared to performance following an equivalent interval spent awake. Moreover, performance remained better the following day if a nap followed learning. Change in post‐nap performance was positively associated with the amount of time spent in slow wave sleep during the nap. This suggests that slow wave sleep in naps may support episodic memory consolidation in early childhood. Taken in conjunction with prior work, these results suggest that multiple features of brain physiology during naps may contribute to declarative memory processing in early childhood.
Highlights
Memories are much more like paintings than photographs
CHAPTER 4 DISCUSSION Our previous work (Kurdziel et al, 2013) suggests that declarative memory consolidation over a nap is a function of sleep spindles
Our findings suggest that napping the day prior has lasting effects on memory retention for young children, and that overnight sleep cannot undo the adverse consequences of nap deprivation on memory consolidation
Summary
Memories are much more like paintings than photographs. Memories do not just “capture” a moment or idea only to be stored away. Like the combination of strokes, colors, and techniques needed to create an artistic experience, new information is actively combined with our preexisting knowledge, and this active integration allows us to learn from and adapt to experiences in a unique way. In this regard, memories form the developmental foundation of our ability to learn. While children from low-income families are at risk for academic underachievement (Arnold & Doctoroff, 2003; Jordan et al, 2006), studies have shown that early childhood education programs relay both immediate and long-term gains (Bitler, Hoynes, & Domina, 2014; Schweinhart, Barnes, & Weikart, 1993; Campbell & Ramey, 1995; Reynolds et al, 2000). Attendance in Head Starts, which are federal child development programs targeting low-income families and children at risk for academic underachievement (Jenkins, Farkas, Duncan, Burchinal, & Vandell, 2016), has been shown to lead to significant gains in cognitive skills, in receptive vocabulary, early mathematics, and early literacy (Bitler, Hoynes, & Domina, 2014)
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