2023-07-30 14:05:00
The containment put in place during the Covid-19 pandemic has greatly disrupted our daily lives. But for University of East Anglia researcher Dr Teodora Gliga, it was the perfect opportunity to study the impact of napping on babies’ brain development.
“Because nurseries were closed, it was less disruptive to children’s natural sleep patterns”she explains in a communiqué.
This work has led to the discovery that the structure of daytime sleep can be an indicator of the level of cognitive development in toddlers.
Baby: long naps associated with a smaller vocabulary
For this study published in the journal JCPP Advances on July 27, 2023, the team observed 463 babies aged eight months to three years during the lockdown in 2020. The researchers recorded their sleep patterns, ability to concentrate on a task, ability to memorize information and the number of words they understood and could say.
The results showed that children with a larger vocabulary and better cognitive skills took naps less often than the others. In contrast, infants with more frequent, but shorter naps than expected for their age, had less developed vocabulary and poorer cognitive performance.
“We also found that this negative association between vocabulary and nap frequency was stronger in older children”says the expert.
Do not prevent children from napping
The researchers specify that their work should not lead parents to prevent their children from sleeping during the day. Reducing naps for little ones with a smaller vocabulary will not help improve their brain development. For scientists, the frequency with which a baby sleeps simply reflects their individual cognitive needs: some quickly consolidate the information of the day, others need a little more time… in any case, each child memorizes and learns while he sleeps.
Thus, they recommend letting young children take naps as often and for as long as they show the need. “Our results suggest that children have different sleep needs – some children may give up naps earlier because they no longer need them. Others may still need to nap after the age of three.”.
The scientist specializing in the development of babies assures parents that they must stop worrying about the sleep times of their offspring. “Toddlers will naturally nap for as long as they need to and they should be allowed to do so”she concludes.
1690762404
#reveals #childs #brain #development