Midday naps boost learning in preschoolers

A new study finds that midday naps boost learning in preschoolers, suggesting if policymakers eliminate classroom naps for young children to allow more time for educational activity, it could backfire.

Researchers from the University of Massachusetts Amherst write about their findings in the current online issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, PNAS.

They explain in their study background that despite the fact midday naps are common in early childhood, we know little about their structure and function.

However, we do know that sleep boosts memory in young adults, so perhaps naps do the same for young children.

Pressure to eliminate midday naps

Meanwhile, numbers of publicly funded preschools and enrollments in them are increasing in the US, driven by copious studies that show the long-term health and educational benefits of early education.

And parents and administrators are debating whether to eliminate daytime naps in the classroom to make way for more curriculum activity.

A possible argument in favor is that since children begin to drop their daytime sleep in early childhood anyway, these classroom naps cannot be that important - perhaps they only contain light sleep stages and do not contribute much to memory and learning by this age.

New study shows naps have learning value

But this new study fills a much-neglected gap in scientific understanding about the value of daytime naps in young children.

Based on observations and measurements of more than 40 preschool children, research psychologist Dr. Rebecca Spencer, with students Kasey Duclos and Laura Kurdziel, suggest daytime naps are important for memory consolidation and early learning.

They write:

"Here we show evidence that classroom naps support learning in preschool children by enhancing memories acquired earlier in the day compared with equivalent intervals spent awake."

They found that the children who appear to benefit the most are those who nap habitually, regardless of age.

Also, subsequent nighttime sleep does not help recover performance losses in nap-deprived youngsters.

Learning losses greater in nap-deprived preschoolers