In a new study led by 2015 PEP Fellow, Rebecca Spencer, and covered by Scientific Reports, UMass sleep researchers find evidence that naps and overnight sleep may work together to benefit memory in early childhood. Spencer, along with several students, report that for children in this study, "Individually, the nap and overnight sleep bouts were not sufficient to induce changes in memory. A significant benefit of napping was observed only when changes across the entire 24-hour period were considered. This supports an interplay between the nap and subsequent overnight sleep in the consolidation of memories in young children." The researchers say another highlight of their work is finding that naps do contribute to emotion processing in preschool children, which is consistent with parents' and early childhood teachers' observations, though this benefit in emotional memory is delayed, say Spencer and colleagues. The research was also featured in the Globe, Laboratory Equipment, Medicine News Line, Science Daily, WBZ Radio, Health Medicine Network., the Recorder, and Science & Technology Research News.