ArticleSleep2020
A daytime nap restores hippocampal function and improves declarative learning.
Article in Sleep, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers.
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Who cites it
19 citing papers in PubMed.
- Trial
- Sleep loss disrupts the neural signature of successful learning.Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991) · 2023Trial
- Trial
- Optimizing cognitive health and emotional well-being through daytime napping: current insights and future directions.Annals of medicine and surgery (2012) · 2026Review
- Napping improves interhemispheric functional coordination during night shifts in nurses: analysis of voxel-mirrored homotopic connectivity.Frontiers in neurology · 2026Article
- Does overnight memory consolidation support next-day learning?Cognition · 2025Article
- High intensity exercise before sleep boosts memory encoding the next morning.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Short naps improve subsequent learning in a high school setting.NPJ science of learning · 2025Article
- Effects of Short Naps on EEG Microstates: Improving Sleep Deprivation-Induced Cognitive Impairment.Nature and science of sleep · 2025Article
- Individualized rTMS Intervention Targeting Sleep Deprivation-Induced Vigilance Decline: Task fMRI-Guided Approach.CNS neuroscience & therapeutics · 2024Article
- The impact of strategic napping on peak expiratory flow and respiratory function in young elite athletes.BMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation · 2024Article
- Single closed-loop acoustic stimulation targeting memory consolidation suppressed hippocampal ripple and thalamo-cortical spindle activity in mice.The European journal of neuroscience · 2024Article
- Article
- Association between daytime napping and cognitive impairment among Chinese older population: a cross-sectional study.Environmental health and preventive medicine · 2023Article
- Article
- Splitting sleep between the night and a daytime nap reduces homeostatic sleep pressure and enhances long-term memory.Scientific reports · 2021Article
- Roles for Sleep in Neural and Behavioral Plasticity: Reviewing Variation in the Consequences of Sleep Loss.Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience · 2021Review
- Observational
- Does Bright Light Counteract the Post-lunch Dip in Subjective States and Cognitive Performance Among Undergraduate Students?Frontiers in public health · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
STUDY
objectivesDaytime naps can confer benefits on subsequent declarative learning, but the physiological correlates of this improvement are less well studied. We examined learning following a daytime nap compared with an equivalent waking period using fMRI and polysomnography.
methodsForty healthy young adults who slept normally the previous night encoded word pair lists in an MRI scanner at 13:00 and 16:30. Between sessions, participants either stayed awake and watched a documentary (Wake Group; N = 20) or had a 90-minute nap opportunity (Nap Group; N = 20) monitored by polysomnography. Approximately 40 minutes after completing each encoding session, memory for learned words was assessed using cued-recall.
resultsA significant Session × Group interaction effect (p < 0.001) was observed in which memory was significantly improved in the Nap but not in the Wake group (p < 0.001). There was also a Session × Run × Group interaction effect in the left hippocampus (p = 0.001), whereby activation during word pair encoding increased only following the nap. Both performance improvement (rs = 0.46, p = 0.04) and nap-related increase in hippocampal activation (rs = 0.46, p = 0.04) were correlated with nap spindle count (12-15 Hz) but not with slow oscillation power (p's ≥ 0.18).
conclusionsAfter a habitual nocturnal sleep, participants who had a 90-minute afternoon nap encoded word pairs better than a comparable group who stayed awake. Increases in hippocampal activation following the nap suggest restored hippocampal function. Naptime spindles may contribute to improved memory.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.