Latest

napping

This shows a person sleeping and a brain.

·June 26, 2025·5 min read

Short Naps Linked to “Aha” Moments and Creative Insight

A new study suggests that a short nap, especially one reaching deeper N2 sleep, can significantly boost problem-solving insight. Participants who achieved N2 sleep were far more likely to discover a hidden shortcut in a task after napping.

Featured Neuroscience

·April 25, 2024·5 min read

Naps Crucial For Brain Development and Memory in Kids

A new study aims to examine the role of napping in brain development among infants and preschoolers. By tracking changes in the hippocampus, the research aims to prove how critical naps are for memory retention and brain growth in young children.

Featured Neuroscience

·July 28, 2023·5 min read

Infant Nap Frequency Reflects Cognitive Needs

A new study found that the frequency and duration of naps in infants are an indication of their cognitive needs. According to the research, infants with smaller vocabularies and poorer cognitive abilities tend to nap more frequently.

Featured Neuroscience

·October 24, 2022·5 min read

Young Child’s Brain, Not Age, Determines Nap Transitions

A new theory proposes there is an underlying relationship between nap transition in young children, brain development, and memory formation.

Featured Neuroscience

·August 12, 2021·4 min read

Short Naps Don’t Relieve Sleep Deprivation

Short naps of up to 60 minutes in duration do not mitigate the effects of a night of sleep deprivation, a new study reports. However, the amount of slow-wave sleep achieved during a nap was related to reduced impairments associated with sleep deprivation.

This shows a young woman taking a nap while sitting at a piano

Featured Genetics Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles

·February 10, 2021·4 min read

The Science of Siestas: The Genetic Basis for Daytime Napping

How often a person takes a daytime nap, or whether they sleep during the daytime at all, is regulated by their genes, a new study reports.

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles

·January 25, 2021·2 min read

Afternoon Napping Linked to Better Mental Agility

An afternoon nap may help improve mental agility, a new study suggests. A short afternoon nap was associated with better working memory, verbal fluency, and locational awareness.

This shows a young boy taking a nap on his school desk

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·June 2, 2019·5 min read

Children who nap midday are happier, excel academically, and have fewer behavioral problems

Children aged 10 to 12 have greater happiness, self-control, fewer behavioral problems, increased cognitive performance and academic achievement when they take a brief midday nap, a new study reports.

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles

·October 4, 2018·4 min read

Daytime Naps Help Us Acquire Information Not Consciously Perceived

Researchers report an afternoon nap can help us to process unconscious information and enhance cognition.

Featured Neuroscience

·May 1, 2018·2 min read

How a Nap Can Enhance False Memories in One Half of the Brain

Napping influences memory in the right hemisphere of the brain, inducing false memories in a word recall test, researchers report.

Featured Neuroscience

·April 24, 2018·5 min read

Napping and Teenage Learning

Teens who take a daytime nap have better attention, nonverbal reasoning and spatial memory skills than their peers who do not nap, researchers report.