Correlates of naptime behaviors in preschool aged children

Abstract

Purpose: Major changes in the timing, duration, and function of sleep occur during childhood. These changes include the transition from habitual napping to infrequent napping. This transition is likely to reflect, at least in part, neurocognitive development. This study sought to identify factors that discriminate between four groups of children with different teacher-reported responses to naptime in childcare: those who nap (nappers), sometimes nap (transitioners), do not nap (resters), and neither nap, nor lie still (problem nappers).

Methods: Standardized observations of sleep and sleep behaviors, daytime behaviors across a number of domains, and direct neurocognitive assessment of 158 preschool aged children (aged 49–72 months; 54% male) attending childcare centers in Queensland (QLD), Australia, were adopted as part of a large longitudinal study of early childhood, the Effective Early Education Experiences (E4Kids) study. Discriminant function analysis was used to examine how age, parent education, nighttime sleep duration, cognitive functioning, behavior problems, and temperament differentiated the four groups.

Results: Three discriminant functions were identified and defined as maturation (strong loadings of nighttime sleep duration, cognitive function, and age), socioeconomic status (parental education), and behavioral problems (externalizing behavior, temperament, and internalizing behavior). These functions accounted for 62.9%, 32.6%, and 4.5% of the between-groups variance, respectively. Children defined as nappers (n=44) had significantly shorter duration of nighttime sleep, were younger, and had lower cognitive functioning scores than did other groups. Problem nappers, (n=25) were more likely to have parents with lower levels of education than did transitioners (n=41). Standard behavior and temperament measures did not significantly differentiate the groups.

Conclusion: The findings support an interaction between cognitive development, sleep behaviors, and the individual needs and circumstances of children. Further research in this area could make a strong contribution to theory and practice in early childhood education, and a strong contribution to understanding of children’s development.

Keywords:

• napping
• children’s sleep
• sleep behavior
• early childhood

Acknowledgments

This study was supported by funding from the Institute for Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology and was completed as a sub-study of the E4Kids study. E4Kids is a project of the Melbourne Graduate School of Education at the University of Melbourne in partnership with Queensland University of Technology and is funded by the Australian Research Council Linkage Projects Scheme, the Victorian Government Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, and the Queensland Government Department of Education and Training.

Approvals

Full ethical approval was received from the Human Research Ethics Committee of the Queensland University of Technology. Written informed consent was received from parents and childcare staff. The research was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki.

Author contributions

All authors contributed to data analysis, drafting and revising the article, gave final approval of the version to be published, and agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work.

Disclosure

Dr Simon S Smith reports funding from the Queensland University of Technology and the National Health and Medical Research Council during the conduct of the study. Dr Sally L Staton reports grants from the Queensland Government, the National Health and Medical Research Council, the Thrasher Foundation, and Capstone Editing outside the submitted work, and funding from the Queensland Government to develop professional development resources and programs for the early childhood sector on sleep, rest, and relaxation. Dr Karen J Thorpe reports grants from the Australian Research Council during the conduct of the study and grants from the Foundation for Children outside the submitted work. The other authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.