TY - JOUR
T1 - Chronotype and time-of-day effects on spatial working memory in preschool children
AU - Abdul Jafar, Nur K.
AU - Tham, Elaine K. H.
AU - Eng, Derric Z. H.
AU - Rifkin-Graboi, Anne
AU - Gooley, Joshua J.
AU - Goh, Daniel Y. T.
AU - Teoh, Oon-Hoe
AU - Lee, Yung S.
AU - Shek, Lynette Pei-Chi
AU - Yap, Fabian
AU - Gluckman, Peter D.
AU - Chong, Yap-Seng
AU - Meaney, Michael J.
AU - Cai, Shirong
AU - Broekman, Birit F. P.
N1 - Funding Information: All authors have seen and approved the final manuscript. Work for this study was performed at the Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) and supported by the Singapore National Research Foundation under its Translational and Clinical Research (TCR) Flagship Programme and administered by the Singapore Ministry of Health’s National Medical Research Council (NMRC), Singapore-NMRC/TCR/004-NUS/2008; NMRC/ TCR/012-NUHS/2014. Additional funding is provided by the Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences, A*STAR, Singapore. Dr. Yap-Seng Chong received lecture fees from companies that sell nutritional products. They are part of an academic consortium that has received research funding from Abbott Nutrition, Nestec, and Danone. The other authors report no conflicts of interest. Publisher Copyright: © 2023 American Academy of Sleep Medicine. All rights reserved.
PY - 2023/10/1
Y1 - 2023/10/1
N2 - STUDY OBJECTIVES: Spatial working memory (SWM) capacity subserves complex cognitive functions, yet it is unclear whether individual diurnal preferences and time-of-day influence SWM in preschool children. The main and interaction effects of chronotype and time-of-day on SWM and SWM differences in preschoolers with different chronotypes within each time-of-day group will be examined. METHODS: We studied a subset of typically developing 4.5-year-olds taking part in a birth cohort study (n = 359). The Children's Chronotype Questionnaire categorized children into morning-, intermediate-, and evening-types. Using a computerized neuropsychological test (Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery), SWM was determined from the total number of between-search errors (ie, between search-total errors) and Strategy scores. Higher between search-total errors or lower Strategy scores indicated worse SWM. Time-of-day was categorized into late morning (10:00 am to 11:59 am), afternoon (12:00 pm to 3:59 pm), and late afternoon (4:00 pm to 6:30 pm). In a subsample (n = 199), caregiver-reported chronotype was validated using actigraphy-measured sleep midpoint. RESULTS: After controlling for ethnicity, no significant main and interaction effects of chronotype and time-of-day on between search-total errors and Strategy scores were seen (all P > .05). However, evening-types outperformed morning-types (ie, lower mean between search-total errors) in the late afternoon (P = .013) but not in the late morning and afternoon (all P > .05). Actigraphy data in the subsample confirmed that evening-types had later sleep midpoints during weekdays and weekends (P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Since evening-type preschoolers had better SWM in the late afternoon compared to morning-type preschoolers, this gives insights into optimal learning opportunities in early childhood education. CITATION: Abdul Jafar NK, Tham EKH, Eng DZH, et al. Chronotype and time-of-day effects on spatial working memory in preschool children. J Clin Sleep Med. 2023;19(10):1717-1726.
AB - STUDY OBJECTIVES: Spatial working memory (SWM) capacity subserves complex cognitive functions, yet it is unclear whether individual diurnal preferences and time-of-day influence SWM in preschool children. The main and interaction effects of chronotype and time-of-day on SWM and SWM differences in preschoolers with different chronotypes within each time-of-day group will be examined. METHODS: We studied a subset of typically developing 4.5-year-olds taking part in a birth cohort study (n = 359). The Children's Chronotype Questionnaire categorized children into morning-, intermediate-, and evening-types. Using a computerized neuropsychological test (Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery), SWM was determined from the total number of between-search errors (ie, between search-total errors) and Strategy scores. Higher between search-total errors or lower Strategy scores indicated worse SWM. Time-of-day was categorized into late morning (10:00 am to 11:59 am), afternoon (12:00 pm to 3:59 pm), and late afternoon (4:00 pm to 6:30 pm). In a subsample (n = 199), caregiver-reported chronotype was validated using actigraphy-measured sleep midpoint. RESULTS: After controlling for ethnicity, no significant main and interaction effects of chronotype and time-of-day on between search-total errors and Strategy scores were seen (all P > .05). However, evening-types outperformed morning-types (ie, lower mean between search-total errors) in the late afternoon (P = .013) but not in the late morning and afternoon (all P > .05). Actigraphy data in the subsample confirmed that evening-types had later sleep midpoints during weekdays and weekends (P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Since evening-type preschoolers had better SWM in the late afternoon compared to morning-type preschoolers, this gives insights into optimal learning opportunities in early childhood education. CITATION: Abdul Jafar NK, Tham EKH, Eng DZH, et al. Chronotype and time-of-day effects on spatial working memory in preschool children. J Clin Sleep Med. 2023;19(10):1717-1726.
KW - actigraphy
KW - chronotype
KW - preschool children
KW - spatial working memory
KW - time-of-day
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85173568476&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - https://doi.org/10.5664/jcsm.10650
DO - https://doi.org/10.5664/jcsm.10650
M3 - Article
C2 - 37143359
SN - 1550-9389
VL - 19
SP - 1717
EP - 1726
JO - Journal of clinical sleep medicine
JF - Journal of clinical sleep medicine
IS - 10
ER -