Splitting sleep significantly enhanced afternoon picture encoding and factual knowledge under both 6.5 h and 8 h durations. Declarative memory was assessed with picture encoding and an educationally realistic factual knowledge task. Sleep episodes were nocturnal or split between nocturnal sleep and a 90-min afternoon nap, creating four experimental groups: 8 h-continuous, 8 h-split, 6.5 h-continuous and 6.5 h-split.
We compared memory in 112 adolescents who underwent two simulated school weeks containing 8 or 6.5 h sleep opportunities each day. It remains unclear how a daily napping schedule impacts learning throughout the day, and whether these effects are the same for well-rested and sleep restricted individuals. Daytime naps have been linked with enhanced memory encoding and consolidation.
