An interventional study of Nap and Wake in Sleep Deprivation, sponsored by University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Recruiting at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 9 Months to 15 Months, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-11-04.
Sponsored by University of Massachusetts, Amherst · Not applicable, Interventional, and Basic science
This study is designed to investigate developmental changes in naps and nap function on memory from 9 to 15 months of age. Memory is measured by a task in which the experimenter interacts with a toy and the measure of memory is whether the child imitates that action when given the toy. Sleep is assessed with a watch that detects motion which provides an estimate of sleep and a set of electrodes placed on the head that measures brain activity during sleep. Infants are recruited at 9 months and sleep and memory are measured again 3- and 6-months later. At each visit, memory is tested before and after a nap (either the morning or afternoon nap) and naps are recorded with the sleep electrodes.
Four days prior to the first session, an experimenter will meet the caregiver and infant (at the lab or at their home) to review procedures and complete the informed consent process. The infant will be fitted with the actigraph watch on the ankle. The caregiver will be given instructions on use of the actigraph watch and be left with questionnaires to complete (e.g., sleep diary, behavioral questionnaires). Four days later, the caregiver and infant will come to the sleep lab for their initial session. In wave 1 (9 months), caregiver-infant dyads will be scheduled to arrive \~1 hr prior to the infant's typical morning nap time. In later waves, if the infant is reported to have eliminated their morning nap, they will be scheduled to arrive \~1 hr prior to when the nap typically occurred before they transitioned out of the morning nap. Infants will be semi-randomly assigned to either the nap or wake condition. Following acclimation to the lab, the infant will be fitted with the polysomnography (electrode) cap. The infant will then complete the encoding and immediate recall phases of the deferred imitation (memory) task. The infant will then be either wake or nap promoted or allowed to follow their normal morning routine. Approximately 90 mins later (following nap waking and time to recover from sleep inertia), the deferred imitation task (recall) will take place.
The caregiver and infant will then have free time (lunch, playtime), with instructions to return to the lab (if they choose to leave; they are also offered access to the lab kitchen and lounge area) \~40 mins before the infant's typical afternoon nap. They will also be instructed to: (1) avoid letting the infant nap and report any sleep that occurred (this will also be monitored with actigraphy); (2) not partake in any unusually stimulating activities; and (3) to follow a routine feeding schedule during this time. When the dyad returns to the lab, the infant will again be equipped with the polysomnography cap and complete the encoding and immediate recall phases with a new set of items. The infant will then either be wake or nap promoted or allowed to follow their normal afternoon nap routine. Approximately 90 mins later (following nap and time to recover from sleep inertia), the delayed recall phase will take place. The infant and caregiver will return to the lab one week later to complete the other condition. The procedures will be repeated at 12 (>12 months and \<13 months) and 15 months (>15 months and \<16 months).
314 studies on the registry are indexed under Sleep Deprivation; 59 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 100 is above the median of 50 across 259 interventional studies indexed under Sleep Deprivation.
Browse Sleep Deprivation studies →University of Massachusetts, Amherst is the lead sponsor of 48 studies on the registry; 5 are open to participants now.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.
Exclusion Criteria:
Naps are promoted
Behavioral: Nap
Wake is promoted
Behavioral: Wake
Naps are common but promoted by soothing, lying the infant down, and/or rocking and massaging
Wake is encouraged by keeping the infant upright, providing stimulation (e.g., reading books, handing toys)
Memory accuracy
Deferred imitation task accuracy (0-100%; higher is better memory)
Time frame: 4 hours
Plan to share: Yes — Data will be shared using Databrary, an open data library for developmental behavioral scientists. As we seek to keep all aspects of the data in one place, all data will be shared via Databrary. Only data of participants who consent to having their data shared in Databrary will be entered there. Consent to Databrary sharing includes notification that video data cannot be completely confidential and they/their child may be recognized in the video. For this reason, caregivers will specifically consent to video sharing in addition to sharing of other data.
Supporting information: Study protocol, Statistical analysis plan
Time frame: Approximately 12 months after data collection is complete, the data will be placed in Databrary which will hold it long-term (unless disrupted by technical or financial capacity)
Access criteria: Access to the files in Databrary will be granted to PIs at research institutions (with an IRB or similar entity) for educational or research purposes with the consent of participants and in accordance with policies of the University of Massachusetts Amherst IRB. Additionally, users of Databrary agree to (1) maintain participant confidentiality; (2) not use data for commercial use; and (3) use data consistent with the practices of their own lab, university, and local IRB.
Data sharing details ↗ · databrary.org
No publications or documents are linked to this record.
Started Sep 2023 (actual). Primary completion is estimated for Jan 2028, 52 months after the start.
Of 141 non-industry interventional studies with no phase under Sleep Deprivation, half reached primary completion within 18 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 8 and three quarters within 44. This study's planned 52 months is above that.
Counting every sponsor, half of 150 studies reached it within 17 months; a quarter within 7 and three quarters within 37.
How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.
From the registry record's own update history. This site started tracking changes on Sep 25, 2026; for anything earlier, see the record history on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
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University of Massachusetts, Amherst