Recruiting

Observational Study

Sponsor:

University of Maryland, College Park

Code:

NCT06351098

Conditions

Memory

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 3 - 5

Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

Interventions

nap

Study Details

Brief summary:

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)

Conditions

Memory

Study ID

NCT06351098

Start date

Nov 5, 2023

Status verified date

Jun, 2026

Completion date

Jun, 2028

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Jun, 2028

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 3 - 5

Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

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).

Study Design

Enrollment

180 participants

Anticipated

Intervention Model

Single group

Primary purpose

Basic Science

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: Nap

Children are nap promoted

Interventions

nap

Children are nap promoted

Primary outcome measure

  • Memory [ Time Frame: across the nap period, approximately 2.5 hours ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Locations

University of Maryland

Recruiting

College Park, Maryland, United States, 20742

Contacts

Tracy Riggins, Ph.D.

301-405-5905riggins@umd.edu

University of Massachusetts

Recruiting

Amherst, Massachusetts, United States, 01003

Contacts

More Information

Sponsor

University of Maryland, College Park

Last update posted

Jun 4, 2026

Last verified

Jun, 2026

Keywords

  • Sleep
  • Brain development

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-10. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by University of Maryland, College Park on 2026-06-04.