The Quality of Naps in Young Children with Sleeping Difficulties: the Role of Parents and Preschools

Abstract

Minimal research exists in regards to day-time naps in children, and to date no research has examined the architecture of naps in children. The present study examined the quality of naps in the preschool environment compared to the home environment in children with sleeping difficulties. The participants were three children aged 1 year, 8 months to 2 years, 2 months. The naps were digitally recorded in the children’s homes and their preschool. The digital recordings were coded using a sleep coding system, which established the sleep states and patterns of the naps. The results indicated that the naps were individually distinctive and varied across the children and across the environments. The majority of sleep times were spent in quiet sleep compared to active sleep. The most consistent finding was that the mean length of sleep (where sleep occurred during nap time) for each child was longer in the home environment than the preschool environment. Caregiver behaviour across the environments shared similarities. Children with sleeping difficulties were chosen for this study as they represent a more challenging population for parents and teachers. It is possible that the sleeping difficulties may have overridden the differences in sleeping environments. This is an interesting and important area of future research.