Spencer Rebecca M C, Campanella Carolina, de Jong Desiree M, Desrochers Phillip, Root Helen, Cremone Amanda, Kurdziel Laura B F
Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst; Neuroscience & Behavior Program, University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst; Neuroscience & Behavior Program, University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
Sleep Health. 2016 Mar;2(1):35-41. doi: 10.1016/j.sleh.2015.12.009. Epub 2016 Feb 1.
Children transition out of naps in early childhood. However, there is disagreement about when this transition should occur.
We compared measures of sleep and behavior in children divided into Frequent, Sometimes, and Rarely nappers to determine what factors predict when napping should cease. We then examined the effect of an experimenter-promoted nap on measures of sleep and behavior.
We studied 133 children (50.4% female; mean=52.77months) over 16 days. Parents completed questionnaires, whereas children wore actigraphs. On 1 study day, children were nap-promoted.
Overnight sleep duration was significantly less for children who napped frequently than those who rarely napped, yet total 24-hour sleep and other sleep parameters did not differ across napping groups. Effortful control was marginally greater in those who rarely napped. Nap promotion was 91% successful across nap groups. When typical sleep was compared with sleep following a promoted nap, frequent nappers slept more on the nap-promoted night. Total 24-hour sleep increased in all children following the promoted nap, and other sleep parameters did not differ between groups.
The emergence of self-regulatory behaviors may predict when children should cease napping, consistent with the hypothesis that transitioning out of naps may be related to brain maturation. Given previously reported benefits of sleep on cognition and the observed increase in 24-hour sleep following nap promotion, nap promotion may benefit early education. Further research should explore maturational cues that illuminate when children are ready to transition out of napping.
幼儿在幼儿期会逐渐不再午睡。然而，对于何时发生这种转变存在分歧。
我们比较了分为频繁午睡、有时午睡和很少午睡的儿童的睡眠和行为指标，以确定哪些因素可预测午睡应何时停止。然后，我们研究了实验者促成的午睡对睡眠和行为指标的影响。
我们对133名儿童（50.4%为女性；平均年龄52.77个月）进行了为期16天的研究。家长填写问卷，儿童佩戴活动记录仪。在一个研究日，对儿童进行促成午睡。
频繁午睡的儿童夜间睡眠时间明显少于很少午睡的儿童，但24小时总睡眠时间和其他睡眠参数在各午睡组之间没有差异。很少午睡的儿童的努力控制能力略强。促成午睡在所有午睡组中的成功率为91%。将典型睡眠与促成午睡后的睡眠进行比较时，频繁午睡的儿童在促成午睡的夜间睡得更多。促成午睡后，所有儿童的24小时总睡眠时间都增加了，且各组之间的其他睡眠参数没有差异。
自我调节行为的出现可能预测儿童何时应停止午睡，这与不再午睡可能与大脑成熟有关的假设一致。鉴于先前报道的睡眠对认知的益处以及促成午睡后观察到的24小时睡眠时间增加，促成午睡可能有益于早期教育。进一步的研究应探索能说明儿童何时准备好不再午睡的成熟线索。
