How babies sleep: understanding naps and memory in infancy
Official title: Function of biphasic sleep in infants
Funded at University of Massachusetts Amherst · NIH-11369952 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This study follows 100 infants over their first year to see how napping patterns affect early memory and brain development.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Massachusetts Amherst NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Hadley, United States) |
| Project start | July 5, 2023 |
| Project end | June 30, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $395,359 |
| NIH project number | 5R01HL169995-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11369952 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Infants aged around 9 to 15 months at the start, and their families, who can commit to 2 sessions every three months for about a year.
✕Less likely to help
Families who cannot participate in repeated in-person sessions or do not have access to sleep monitoring may not benefit.
What this research studies
Researchers will track infants every three months, using sleep diaries and activity monitors to see when naps happen. They will also measure brain-related signals with sleep studies and test memory using simple imitation tasks. The goal is to understand how having more than one nap influences memory as babies shift toward one daily nap. Findings could help parents know how to support their child’s cognitive growth during a critical period.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: Better guidance for parents on how infant sleep patterns support early memory and brain development.
How similar studies have gone: Previous work suggests sleep patterns influence memory development in infancy, but this study will track changes across a transition period with objective sleep measures.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Hadley, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Spencer, Rebecca M C — University of Massachusetts Amherst
- Study coordinator: Spencer, Rebecca M C
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.