Abstract
Daytime napping contributes to retention of new word learning in children. Importantly, children transition out of regular napping between ages 3–5 years, and the impact of this transition on memory is unclear. Here, we examined the performance of both non-habitually napping children (nap 0–3 days per week, n = 28) and habitually napping children (nap 4–7 days per week, n = 30) on a word learning task after a delay including either sleep or wakefulness. Children ages 3.5–4.5 years old experienced a brief exposure to two novel labels and their referents during training, a scenario that replicates learning experiences children encounter every day. After a 4-h delay, children were tested on the object-label associations. Using mixed effects logistic regression, we compared retention performance. Non-habitual nappers and habitual nappers displayed a different pattern of retention such that non-habitually napping children did equally well on a test of retention regardless of whether they napped or stayed awake during the delay. In contrast, habitually napping children needed a nap after learning to retain the novel object-label associations 4 h later. As a group, habitual nappers who remained awake after learning performed no better than chance on the retention test. As children transition out of naps, they may be less susceptible to interference and are better able to retain newly learned words across a delay including wakefulness.
Highlights
Published: 5 October 2021By the age of two years, most children are acquiring new vocabulary at a rapidly increasing rate, an important development given the central role of vocabulary in communication
The goal of the current study is to examine the retention of new word learning in habitually napping and non-habitually napping children after a delay including either sleep or wakefulness
Slow-wave activity (SWA) has long been considered a physiological marker of sleep pressure [33], so these findings suggest that as children age, they accumulate sleep pressure at a slower rate, allowing them to remain awake for longer periods of time, and eventually phase out napping
Summary
By the age of two years, most children are acquiring new vocabulary at a rapidly increasing rate, an important development given the central role of vocabulary in communication. Perry and Horst [1] point to three crucial phases inherent in learning a new word:. (1) forming an association between a label and a meaning or referent, (2) remembering the association over a delay, and (3) applying the new mapping to a novel situation [1]. We examine the second phase of word learning in the work presented here. Assessing Memory via Single Exposure Word Learning across a Delay. Accepted: 30 September 2021 with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations
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