Acute sleep restriction does not affect declarative memory in 10-year-old girls

The study aim was to determine the effects of sleep restriction (5A h of time in bed) compared with 10A h of sleep opportunity on declarative memory function in young children. Fourteen girls attended a sleep laboratory for three nights: adaptation, control, and restriction. The Auditory Verbal Learning Task (AVLT) measured declarative memory performance before and after sleep. No significant differences were found in performance between control and sleep restriction. Performance deteriorated in all delayed recall trials, with significant differences found between pre- and post-sleep trials in both conditions. Memory function in children, as measured by the AVLT, is not affected by acute sleep restriction.