There is compelling evidence that sleep (N2, REM sleep, but also N3) supports the consolidation of motor memory in adults. Although children express higher levels of REM sleep and N3, it is still not understood why sleep does not benefit the consolidation of motor memory in children as in adults. Here, we aimed to manipulate sleep by daytime physical exercise in typically developing boys (N = 12; range 9–12 yrs) to test the impact on sleep and motor learning. The manipulation consisted of 1 h of intense ergometer exercise during the daytime before a night of restorative sleep. In a rest control condition, children were seated comfortably and listened to an audio drama. Motor learning was assessed with a visuomotor finger sequence tapping task; in both conditions learning took place before either exercise or rest. Prior to sleep in the sleep laboratory, motor memory was assessed as a baseline. Motor memory was again collected in the morning after a night of sleep in the lab. While there was no change in N3, we found prolonged REM sleep latency after physical activity compared to rest, corresponding to a prolonged first sleep cycle. With respect to motor learning, we found superior accuracy of motor performance after physical exercise compared to rest. Our findings suggest that physical exercise during the daytime stabilizes sleep-dependent motor learning.

有令人信服的证据表明，睡眠（N2，REM睡眠，也包括N3）支持成年人运动记忆的巩固。尽管儿童表现出较高的REM睡眠和N3水平，但仍不清楚为什么睡眠不像成人那样有益于儿童运动记忆的巩固。在这里，我们的目标是通过对典型发育中的男孩（N = 12； 9至12岁）进行白天体育锻炼来控制睡眠，以测试其对睡眠和运动学习的影响。该操作包括在恢复性睡眠的夜晚之前的白天进行1小时的激烈的测力计运动。在休息控制的情况下，孩子们可以舒适地坐着并听音频戏剧。运动学习是通过视觉运动手指序列敲击任务来评估的。在这两种情况下，学习都是在运动或休息之前进行的。在睡眠实验室睡觉之前，以运动记忆为基线。在实验室过夜后，早晨再次收集运动记忆。虽然N3没有变化，但我们发现与休息相比，体育锻炼后REM睡眠潜伏期延长，这与较长的第一次睡眠周期相对应。关于运动学习，我们发现体育锻炼后的运动表现优于休息。我们的研究结果表明，白天进行体育锻炼可以稳定依赖睡眠的运动学习。关于运动学习，我们发现体育锻炼后的运动表现优于休息。我们的研究结果表明，白天进行体育锻炼可以稳定依赖睡眠的运动学习。关于运动学习，我们发现体育锻炼后的运动表现优于休息。我们的研究结果表明，白天进行体育锻炼可以稳定依赖睡眠的运动学习。