Sleep has been shown to assist with processes involved in self-regulation–the ability to control behavior, cognition, and emotion when challenged. As sleep decreases and toddlers begin their transition from physical to cognitive-based self-regulation strategies, they may struggle with controlling their emotions in trying situations. As such, Miller et al. conducted a study to investigates the impact of napping on self-regulation on toddler’s self-regulation skills.

Children in this study were assigned to either nap or no-nap conditions; both groups were given an unsolvable puzzle to complete an hour after their normal nap wake time. Overall, Miller et al. discovered that an absence of napping affects some, but not all self-regulation strategies, as children who didn’t nap showed decreases in skepticism and negative self-appraisal, and displayed increases in physical self-soothing and an insistence that they completed the unsolvable puzzle.

Thus, wakefulness in young children poorly impacts their capacity for self-regulation; this capacity can be restored through sleep. Further, children who didn’t nap resorted to old self-regulation strategies and were not attentive enough to the puzzle or their own abilities to recognize that the puzzle could not be completed. This study suggests that napping can aid young children with handling difficult emotions, and provides serious implications for school settings. Children who do not receive adequate sleep may struggle to remain engaged, assess their own abilities, and retain information that they learn. To fully understand the extent to which napping impacts self-regulation in older students, further research needs to be done.

Kylie Robinshaw

UConn KIDS, Research Assistant

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