Description

Children of pre-school age often have problems to act with foresight and to put plans into action at the right moment. However, these skills are required of children at the latest when they enter school. For adults, sleep is a factor that promotes future-oriented thinking and action. The proposed study will examine for the first time whether a midday nap has a positive effect on the foresighted thinking and acting of preschool children. In a quasi-experimental design with N = 120 children, it is determined whether children who take a nap after a presented problem are more likely to choose an object that is necessary for solving the problem than children who stay awake (under control of daytime effects). In addition, it is recorded whether, after a nap, children are more likely to independently implement a previously conceived plan at the right time than children who remain awake. The planned preparatory work is of crucial importance for (1) refining the methodology, (2) applying the paradigms with a delay, and (3) generating pilot data to gain a first impression of whether or under what conditions sleep has an impact on future-oriented action in 3-4 year olds. The planned project within the framework of start-up funding would increase the chances of success of a further DFG-proposal and is therefore of crucial importance.