Libraries have an incredible role in helping children develop a lifelong enjoyment of learning. This guide shows how Carroll County (Maryland) Public Library developed a program to train adults in ...promoting school readiness, with age-appropriate books, play materials, and learning opportunities.
Introduction The preschool nap opportunity has been shown to enhance visuospatial learning. Specifically, on a visuo-spatial learning task, like the game ‘Memory,’ performance in preschool-aged ...children was protected following a nap while performance declined by ~12% over an equal period awake. Further, post-nap performance was associated with sleep spindles. However, it is unclear whether the association between the nap-dependent benefit and sleep characteristics generalizes to other declarative memory tasks. In this study, we used a novel storybook task to determine whether other forms of declarative learning, particularly those forms used in preschool classrooms, are benefited by naps at this age. Methods Preschool children (36-71 months; N=18) listened and viewed four 10-page storybooks chronicling events typical to a preschool child (e.g. baking cookies with mom). There were two conditions, a nap condition and a wake condition (within subject, order counterbalanced, ~1 week apart). Each condition began with the reading of two of the stories to the child. During immediate recall, children were asked to place picture cards portraying scenes from the stories in correct order. Children were then fitted with the polysomnography cap. Children then either spent 2 hours taking a nap (sleep condition) or engaging in quiet activities for an equivalent period of time (wake condition). After the nap/wake period, delayed recall was assessed through the picture card task and recall was probed once more 24 hours after encoding. Results Recall for the story was greater following the nap period than an equivalent time spent awake (p =.021). This nap-dependent benefit persisted 24 hours later (p=.008). Further, total time spent asleep was correlated with performance scores (r=.571, p =.013). Unlike prior studies, the correlation between sleep spindle density and memory performance was not significant. Conclusion Our results suggest that midday naps in preschool children support the consolidation of episodic declarative memories. The lack of association between spindles and performance suggests that consolidation of episodic memories may be supported through separate mechanisms. Nonetheless, naps may be critical to preschool education. Support (If Any) Supported by NIH RO1 HL111695 (PI: RMCS).
Abstract
Introduction
Physical activity (PA) and sleep contribute to overall health in early childhood. To explore the interactive relationships of these behaviors in older children and adults, ...previous studies have examined temporal between- and within-person associations through micro-longitudinal designs. However, such analyses have not been conducted in early childhood, when behaviors are guided by adult caregivers. The purpose of this analysis was to examine temporal and bidirectional associations between SED, PA, and sleep in preschool children.
Methods
Wake (activity counts/min and percent time in SED, light PA LPA, and moderate-to-vigorous PA MVPA) and overnight sleep (sleep duration, sleep efficiency SE, mid-sleep point MSP) were assessed via wrist-based actigraphy (mean = 10.4 days and 9.8 nights) and recorded as repeated (daily) measures. Multilevel models with lagged effects and AR(1) error covariance structure were used to examine the temporal associations between wake and sleep measures and adjusted for age, sex, socioeconomic status, and nap frequency.
Results
With PA measures as predictors, between-person associations were positive between activity counts and SE (p=0.004), SED and SE (p=0.004), LPA and sleep duration (p=0.005), and negative between LPA and MSP (p=0.039) and MVPA and SE (p=0.003). Within-person associations were positive between activity counts and sleep duration (p=0.010), activity counts and SE (p=0.018), MVPA and sleep duration (p=0.003), MVPA and SE (p=0.004), and negative between SED and SE (p=0.034) and LPA and sleep duration (p=0.045). With sleep measures as predictors, associations were positive between sleep duration and LPA (p<0.001) and SE and SED (p=0.008), and negative between MSP and LPA (p=0.009), SE and activity counts (p=0.001), and SE and MVPA (p=0.003). Within-person associations were positive between SE and activity counts (p=0.001) and SE and MVPA (p=0.001), and negative between sleep duration and LPA (p=0.001) and SE and SED (p=0.012).
Conclusion
Generally, days with higher levels of activity or sleep were not associated with greater subsequent sleep or PA. Conversely, when participants obtained greater PA or sleep compared to their individual average, some beneficial associations were evident. These findings demonstrate some evidence of temporal associations between PA and sleep, although the bidirectional nature was not conclusive.
Support (if any)
NIH R01 HL111695
Abstract
Introduction
Naps are known to benefit emotional memory consolidation in preschoolers, though improvement is not evident until the following day. The mechanisms by which naps aid emotional ...memory, and how they differ from those facilitating more neutral declarative memory consolidation, are currently unknown. In this study, we used an emotional storybook task to assess change in memory for emotionally salient vs. neutral events across a nap and overnight sleep. PSG was included to explore sleep physiology correlates.
Methods
Preschool children (n = 9; Mage= 43.2 months) were read a novel storybook featuring negative and neutral events. Memory of story events was probed through sets of multiple-choice questions and assessed at three time points: immediately following the story, following a nap or equivalent wake period (within-subject; counterbalanced; separated by ~1 week), and 24h post-encoding. PSG was recorded during the nap period and both subsequent overnight sleep bouts.
Results
Memory performance across time points was assessed via change scores. Recall of story events did not differ between conditions from immediate to post-nap/wake assessment. When probed the following morning, children better remembered events when a nap took place the day prior (F(1,7) = 8.848, p=.021). This delayed nap benefit correlated with time spent in NREM2 during the nap (r=.91, p=.017). No differences were found between recall of negative vs. neutral events at any time point or between conditions.
Conclusion
Our results show a delayed benefit of napping on recall of a storybook, though at present no preference for emotional events is seen. Time spent in NREM2 during the nap was strongly associated with our finding, likely reflecting the declarative memory benefits conferred from this stage. Further analyses will include overnight sleep physiology to explore differential enhancement between event types, and possible interactions with nap microstructure.
Support
This work was supported by NIH R01 HL111695.
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