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Preschool Nap Study

Sponsor
University of Massachusetts, Amherst (Other)
Overall Status
Enrolling by invitation
CT.gov ID
NCT03285880
Collaborator
(none)
382
Enrollment
1
Location
3
Arms
69.9
Anticipated Duration (Months)
5.5
Patients Per Site Per Month

Study Details

Study Description

Brief Summary

The specific objective of the proposed research is to examine whether naps contribute to immediate and delayed benefits on multiple forms of learning in young children (3-5 yrs). By probing recall prior to and following mid-day nap or wake intervals, the overarching hypothesis is that recent memories are actively processed (as opposed to passively protected) by a nap, conferring immediate or delayed (24-hrs) benefits on declarative (Aim 1), procedural (Aim 2), and emotional (Aim 3) memories. In two conditions, children will either be nap-promoted or wake-promoted midday. Subsequently, performance will be reassessed that day as well as the following day.

Condition or Disease Intervention/Treatment Phase
  • Behavioral: Napping
 N/A

Detailed Description

The proposed research examines whether naps contribute to immediate and delayed benefits on multiple forms of learning in preschool-aged children (3-5 yrs). By probing recall prior to and following mid-day nap or wake intervals, we will examine immediate memory performance and how it is changed by an interval with a nap compared to if that interval was spent awake. There are three arm, separately assessing declarative (using a storybook learning task), procedural (using a mirror tracing task), and emotional (using an emotional storybook task). All children will participate in a nap and wake condition. On the experimental day, children will learn the task, then be nap or wake promoted (within subject, conditions counterbalanced and separated by 1 week). Subsequently, performance will be reassessed that day as well as the following day. Children will wear an actigraph watch for a 16-day interval surrounding the experimental days in order to access habitual sleep patterns (e.g., nap frequency). A subset of children will complete the experimental days in the sleep laboratory. For these children, sleep will be measured using polysomnography, a montage of electroencepholography, electromyography, and electrooculography electrodes.

Study Design

Study Type:
Interventional
Anticipated Enrollment :
382 participants
Allocation:
Non-Randomized
Intervention Model:
Single Group Assignment
Intervention Model Description:
Within subject comparison of nap and wake conditionsWithin subject comparison of nap and wake conditions
Masking:
None (Open Label)
Masking Description:
Within-subject; participants/experimenters are aware of conditions
Primary Purpose:
Basic Science
Official Title:
The Benefits of Naps on Cognitive, Emotional, and Motor Learning in Preschoolers
Actual Study Start Date :
Sep 1, 2017
Anticipated Primary Completion Date :
Jun 30, 2022
Anticipated Study Completion Date :
Jun 30, 2023

Arms and Interventions

Arm Intervention/Treatment
Experimental: Declarative memory

Napping v. wake effect on a declarative memory task (storybook)

Behavioral: Napping
Children nap during the nap opportunity
Experimental: Procedural memory

Napping v. wake effect on a procedural memory task (motor sequence learning or mirror tracing)

Behavioral: Napping
Children nap during the nap opportunity
Experimental: Emotional memory

Napping v. wake effect on an emotional memory task (emotional faces or storybook)

Behavioral: Napping
Children nap during the nap opportunity

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

  1. Change in memory accuracy [4-5 hours]

    Accuracy on the memory task following the nap compared to before the nap relative to the same memory change measured over an interval spent awake

Eligibility Criteria

Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study:
33 Months to 60 Months
Sexes Eligible for Study:
All
Accepts Healthy Volunteers:
Yes
Inclusion Criteria:
  • be enrolled in a preschool testing site or available to come into the lab
Exclusion Criteria:

  • Diagnosis of any sleep disorder(other than mild parasomnia) past or present

  • Current use of psychotropic or sleep-altering medications

  • traveling beyond 1 time zone within 1 month of testing

  • fever or symptoms of respiratory illness at the time of testing

  • physical handicap which interferes with assessments (vision, hearing impairment)

  • diagnosed developmental disability

Contacts and Locations

Locations

Site City State Country Postal Code
1 University of Massachusetts Amherst Massachusetts United States 01003

Sponsors and Collaborators

  • University of Massachusetts, Amherst

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Rebecca M Spencer, PhD, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

Study Documents (Full-Text)

None provided.

More Information

Additional Information:

Publications

Responsible Party:
Rebecca Spencer, Associate Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
NCT03285880
Other Study ID Numbers:
  • R01HL111695
First Posted:
Sep 18, 2017
Last Update Posted:
Sep 18, 2017
Last Verified:
Sep 1, 2017
Individual Participant Data (IPD) Sharing Statement:
No
Plan to Share IPD:
No
Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated Drug Product:
No
Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated Device Product:
No

Study Results

No Results Posted as of Sep 18, 2017