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Longitudinal Investigation of Sleep, Memory, and Brain Development Across the Nap Transition

Who can join

36 Months – 60 Months · All sexes · Healthy volunteers welcome

Inclusion Criteria:

1. 36-60 months at the time of enrollment
2. must be a habitual napper (defined as napping 5 or more days/week on average for the past month)
3. must sleep independently (not bedsharing; in order to maintain consistent sleep not interrupted by others)

Exclusion Criteria:

1. diagnosis of any sleep disorder (other than mild parasomnia which is routine at this age) past or present (Child's Sleep Habit Questionnaire)
2. current use of psychotropic or sleep-altering medications (Developmental, Health, and Environment Questionnaire)
3. traveling beyond 1 time zone within 1 month prior to testing (phone screening)
4. fever or symptoms of respiratory illness at the time of testing (phone screening)
5. physical handicap which interferes with assessments (vision, hearing impairment; phone screening)
6. diagnosed developmental disability (Developmental, Health, and Environment Questionnaire)
7. history of neurological injury such as history of seizures, brain tumor, or stroke (phone screening)
8. presence of metal in the body (e.g., implant of any form) or other contraindication for MRI (e.g., claustrophobia, which is rare at this age).
9. external influences on nap habits (e.g., inability to nap due to school or caregiver schedule or interfering activities during a typical naptime) including if the child will enroll in full-day kindergarten by the end of the study. Caregivers will also be queried for the presence of interfering activities throughout enrollment (e.g., ecological momentary assessment (or EMA), sleep diaries at each wave).

About the study

To examine the relations between sleep (nap transitions, sleep physiology), memory, and brain development longitudinally, the researchers will assess n=180 children (in order to acquire n=152 usable data sets) who are 36-54 months of age and habitual nappers at enrollment. In each wave, the researchers will assess memory, memory change over a nap and equivalent waking interval, sleep physiology of the nap, and brain structure and function (using Magnetic Resonance Imagining or MRI). Additionally, overnight sleep physiology will be assessed in all participants. Waves will take place approximately every 6 months. For all children, three waves will be collected. With these data, the researchers will address the following aims:

* Examine neural markers that predict the sleep transition (Aim 1); * Examine changes in sleep-dependent memory processing (mnemonic discrimination) over both nap and overnight sleep intervals, across the sleep transition (Aim 2); * Examine changes in sleep microstructure in both nap and overnight sleep across the sleep transition (Aim 3) * Examine interrelations among brain, memory and sleep microstructure across the sleep transition (Aim 4)

What is being tested

• nap (behavioral)

Sponsor: University of Maryland, College Park · Participants: 180 · Started: Nov 5, 2023

Contact the study team

Official record on ClinicalTrials.gov — NCT06351098

Locations in the U.S.

From ClinicalTrials.gov, data retrieved Sep 30, 2026. Each study sets its own eligibility; the study team decides who can join.