The hippocampus functions in forming and stabilizing memories, playing a role in memory processing and learning. During early childhood, the hippocampus is rapidly developing and so young children need afternoon naps in order to help this brain structure to process new information into memories. The hippocampus can only hold a certain amount of information before it gets overpowered and is unable to process it, so napping helps it slow down and take the time to process information. For example, a 2020 study showed that children who took a nap after storytime were able to better recall the events in the story than those who did not. 

As the hippocampus matures, past the preschool ages, the capacity of the structure increases, able to process more information and increase memory. And so, as children grow, they transition out of napping, as they may not need it to better their learning. However, parents may be concerned when their child is still napping past the preschool age, which they should not be. Brain development occurs on different timelines and one child may need more time for certain development than another, and that is not of concern. 

This also does not mean that naps should be forced on children for their learning. They have an instinct of when they need to nap and when their brain is working for them, so we just need to listen to the children when they said they need a nap. Afternoon napping should not affect how much sleep a child gets at night. At a younger age, they will need about 11-14 hours of sleep while preschoolers will need 10-13 hours of sleep in total. 

Article Link: https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2022-10-25/toddlers-nap-a-lot-and-then-they-dont-new-research-uncovers-why

Tulsi Patel

UConn KIDS Research Assistant 

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