LAUSR

&NA; A period of post‐learning sleep benefits memory consolidation compared with an equal‐length wake interval. However, whether this sleep‐based memory consolidation changes as a function of age remains controversial. Here we report a meta‐analysis that investigates the age differences in the sleep‐based memory consolidation in two types of memory: declarative memory and procedural memory. The meta‐analysis included 22 comparisons of the performance between young adults (N =640) and older adults (N =529) on behavioral tasks measuring sleep‐based memory consolidation. Our results showed a significant overall sleep‐based beneficial effect in young adults but not in older adults. However, further analyses suggested that the age differences were mainly manifested in sleep‐based declarative memory consolidation but not in procedural memory consolidation. We discussed the possible underlying mechanisms for the age‐related degradation in sleep‐based memory consolidation. Further research is needed to determine the crucial components for sleep‐related memory consolidation in older adults such as age‐related changes in neurobiological and cardiovascular functions, which may play an important role in this context and have the potential to delineate the interrelationships between age‐related changes in sleep and memory. HighlightsAge‐related decline was found in sleep‐based memory consolidation (SBC).Older adults had impaired SBC effect on declarative memory.Older adults had relatively preserved SBC effect on procedural memory.The age‐related changes of SBC are mostly derived from sleep condition.Older adults' SBC effect is moderated by their sleep efficiency.