Researchers from Germany's University of Sheffield and Ruhr University discovered how naps boost the cognitive abilities of babies, BBC Reported.
Based on the study, toddlers who take naps have better chances of learning new things than those who don't.
To test this finding, the researchers conducted an experiment on 216 babies aged six to 12 months old. The test involved showing the babies how to remove a mitten from a hand puppet, according to the Daily Mail.
Immediately after the activity, half of the young participants took a four-hour nap while some slept for less than 30 minutes. The other babies didn't sleep after the test with the puppet.
After 24 hours, the researchers asked the participants to repeat what they learned during the first day of the experiment. The babies who slept for four hours were able to replicate the actions with the hand puppet.
Those who didn't take a nap and those who slept for about less than an hour were not able to remember their activities during the previous day.
For Dr. Jane Herbert, a psychologist from the University of Sheffield and co-author of the study, the study's findings indicate the importance of naps for toddlers. In addition, it suggests the optimum time for parents as to when they should teach their babies new things.
"Until now people have presumed that the best time for infants to learn is when they are wide-awake, rather than when they are starting to feel tired, but our results show that activities occurring just before infants have a nap can be particularly valuable and well-remembered," Herbert told the Daily Mail.
She then noted that aside from highlighting the significance of naps, the study also implies the importance of reading to a toddler right before he or she goes to bed.
"This study however examined learning opportunities around naturally occurring naps and shows just how valuable activities like reading books with young children just before they go down to sleep can be," Herbert added.
The findings of Herbert and her team were details in a report published by the scientific journal of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
