Napping Helps Preschoolers Learn

Napping and Memory

Children who follow a regular sleep routine are more apt to have a productive day as a healthy amount of good sleep quality is great for their bodies and their brain. Children need sleep for proper cognitive brain development and those who receive proper sleep usually are more attentive, less moody, and more engaged in learning.  Although studies on the link between napping and memory have been scarce, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, states, “In both children and adults, the quality of sleep (i.e., minutes of sleep stages and quantity of sleep features) is correlated with the magnitude of memory improvement,”. The study examined the level of sleep quality a child needs to retain learning within a given timeframe and shows that napping helps preschoolers by giving their brain the needed time to rest, process and develop while sleeping.

Creating Healthy Routines 

Establishing a healthy sleep routine with your child will provide them guidance throughout the day, allowing their minds to be well-rested and ready to receive new learning. Sarah C. Mednick, wrote in her publication on the study of memory and sleep, “The authors found that when children napped, they showed greater conservation of knowledge both in the post nap and 24-hour recall conditions, whereas there was significant long-term forgetting when they did not nap. These data are unique in clearly indicating napping as a valuable resource for memory consolidation in preschool-aged children,”. Creating a routine that allows a young child to have a consistent nap time can improve their daily life by balancing their awake periods with sleep breaks. This will be different for different children and at different ages but keeping an emphasis on napping will help develop your child’s brain fully by allowing them proper development time.

Building Comforting Environments

Warm cozy blankets, calming tones, low sounds, and clean low-light environments invite comfort into the daily napping routine for young children. Finding what works best for your child may take a few tries but keep trying. Making napping a regular routine and creating an environment that is inviting for your child can help them feel more comfortable to keep napping as needed for their development phase. Here are some recommendations:

• Provide a comfortable place for them to nap 
• Remove any distractions and darken the room
• Create a nap routine for around the same time each day.
• Prepare your child for naptime by letting them know it’s almost time.
• Some children need support to calm their bodies and minds. It may help if you pat / lightly rub their back until they feel calm.

Give your child the space to grow, changing the times, and routine as needed. Napping helps preschoolers so try a naptime routine that will benefit your child’s development.

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