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Sleeping pattern of kindergartners and nursery school children: function of daytime nap

Kazuhiko Fukuda1, Yukine Sakashita

  • 1Department of Educational Psychology, Faculty of Education, Fukushima University, Japan. kfukuda@educ.fukushima-u.ac.jp

Perceptual and Motor Skills
|March 9, 2002
PubMed

Insights

Afternoon naps in young children decrease with age and may delay nighttime sleep onset. This study examined children's sleep patterns and the impact of naps.

Area of Science:

  • Child development
  • Sleep science
  • Pediatric health

Background:

  • Childhood sleep patterns are crucial for development.
  • Afternoon naps are common in Japanese nursery schools.
  • Understanding nap function is important for pediatric sleep health.

Purpose of the Study:

  • Investigate the sleeping patterns of children aged 3-6 years.
  • Examine the function of afternoon naps in compensating for nighttime sleep insufficiency.
  • Determine if afternoon naps delay subsequent nighttime sleep onset.

Main Methods:

  • A questionnaire was administered to parents of 441 children (229 boys, 212 girls) aged 3-6.
  • Sleep patterns, including nighttime sleep and daytime naps, were analyzed.
  • Sleep duration and onset time were compared on days with and without afternoon naps.

Main Results:

  • Daytime naps significantly decreased and nearly disappeared by age 6.
  • Nursery school children had shorter nighttime sleep and later bedtimes than kindergartners.
  • Afternoon naps were found to delay nighttime sleep onset but were not a result of sleep deficiency.

Conclusions:

  • Childhood daytime napping habits decline significantly with age.
  • Afternoon naps may negatively impact nighttime sleep onset timing.
  • Further research is needed to optimize napping schedules for young children.

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