About This Project

While many might think it typical and healthy for a preschool child to take naps, in recent years, the preschool nap has been called into question. Preschool naps are being removed from the classroom to make time for additional directed learning, and some researchers have suggested that naps diminish nighttime sleep quality. However, my research has shown that this may not be true. I aim to better understand the function of the nap in preschoolers, and how the nap may influence nighttime sleep.

Ask the Scientists

What is the context of this research?

A number of recent studies have shown that naps benefit memory (Kurdziel et al., 2013) and emotional regulation (Cremone et al., in press). However, children typically wean themselves off of napping during the preschool age (Iglowstein, et al., 2003). Given that this is a transitional time with respect to sleep, there is a lot of controversy as to when a child should be napping (Washington Post Article).

One of the strongest arguments against napping is that is could be detrimental to nocturnal sleep (Staton, et al., 2015). While nighttime sleep is slightly reduced with a nap, children actually sleep more across the 24-hour period (nap time + overnight sleep). Much more work is needed to understand the benefits and risks of napping during preschool.

What is the significance of this project?

This project has the potential to benefit the scientific community as well as inform parents, health care professionals, and educators. By examining sleep microstructure in this developmental population, I will be able to definitively determine how naps are affecting nocturnal sleep quality. This will eventually lead to stronger, scientifically backed recommendations as to when children should be weaned off of napping to provide the greatest benefit to learning and emotional regulation. Lastly, this research will help to better understand one of the greatest unsolved scientific mysteries - why do we sleep? In examining such a drastic shift in sleep patterns, this research will inform the greater scientific community about why we need to sleep, and when we need to sleep.

What are the goals of the project?

Children will have sleep recorded during a nap period, and during overnight sleep following a day with a nap, and following a day without a nap. I will then use the Brainvision Analyzer 2 software to assess sleep microstructure through spectral analysis.

I am particularly interested in the spectral power of slow waves (SWA). SWA has been shown to reflect sleep pressure or sleep need (Achermann & Borbely, 2003). I will examine the changes in SWA between the two experimental nights - one after a day of waking, and one after a day with a nap. The relationship between SWA in the nap and nocturnal SWA can also be assessed. Lastly I am interested in the pattern of SWA decline over the course of the night in preschool aged children, as this has never been examined.