Play to Zzz's Study

We are hoping to learn more about the influences of movement and sleep on one another and cognitive performance in young children. Key to this study are three research sessions conducted over a 2-week period. At the first session, we will explain the study to your child and ask for their assent to participate, have them complete a brief cognitive assessment on an iPad tablet, and give them a watch that we will ask them to wear during the study period. This watch has an accelerometer which will measure your child’s activity and sleep. We will also give you as the caregiver a questionnaire, a daily sleep diary, and instructions for the two ‘experimental’ days. The experimental days will consist of either a day with you and your child following a typical routine or a day with your child participating in more physical activity/movement than a typical day. In the evenings of the two experimental days, we will ask your child to play a memory game and then if they are willing, set up the sleep monitoring equipment for them to wear overnight. The following morning, we will ask your child to play the memory game again and complete another brief cognitive activity. We anticipate the risk of participating in this study to be low. You and your child will be compensated up to $250 for participation in this study. 

​

If you would like more information or have questions about the study, you may contact the primary investigator, Christine St. Laurent (cstlaurent@umass.edu) or click on the 'Express Interest' button above!