Regular Naps to Boost your Baby's Learning

 by Sue Heron Head of Training Tatty Bumpkin Ltd

Researchers, at the Sheffield and Ruhr University Bochum in Germany, taught 216, 6 -12 month old babies 3 new tasks which involved playing with hand puppets. See http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2015/01/08/1414000112.abstract

Jane Herbert doing the study see https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/psychology/research

• Half the babies slept within four hours of learning, while the rest either had no sleep or napped for fewer than 30 minutes.

• The following day, the babies were encouraged to repeat the tasks they had been taught. On average: 

• The babies who had a long nap (30 mins or over) within 4 hours after doing the 3 new tasks could repeat 1.5 of them 

• The babies who had no nap, or only a short one, after doing the 3 tasks could not remember any of them

Jane Herbert, from the department of psychology at the University of Sheffield, told the BBC News website see http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-30776745 that previously it had been assumed that "wide-awake was best" for learning, but instead it "may be the events just before sleep that are most important" and that the findings showed "just how valuable" reading books with children before sleep could be.

Dr Herbert added: "Parents get loads of advice, some saying fixed sleep, some flexible, these findings suggest some flexibility would be useful, but they don't say what parents should do." .... 

Other Thoughts

James Gallagher Health editor, BBC News website see http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-30776745 previously reported that:

• A study last year showed how new connections between brain cells formed during sleep see http://www.sciencemag.org/content/344/6188/1173

• Prof Derk-Jan Dijk, a sleep scientists at the University of Surrey, said: "It may be that sleep is much more important at some ages than others, but that remains to be firmly established." He said: 
• "Babies should definitely get enough sleep" to encourage learning, but concentrating learning just before bedtime may not be best. 
• "What the data show is sleeping after training is positive, it does not show that being sleepy during training is positive.

In Conclusion 

Sleep, and the importance of sleep, seems to be attracting more and more research in recent years. I am sure we do not give it the priority it deserves in our own, and our babies' and children's, busy lives. 

Our Baby and Tatty Bumpkin sessions always end with a relaxation time where babies and children are encouraged to be still and calm. 

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