The short-term benefits of brief and long naps following nocturnal sleep restriction.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose was to remedy the lack of experimental studies directly comparing the effects of brief and long daytime naps following nocturnal sleep restriction.


METHODS
Twelve young adult healthy sleepers participated in a repeated measures design comparing the effects of no nap, a 10-minute nap, and a 30-minute afternoon nap in each case following a night of 4.7 hours of total sleep time. Objective and subjective alertness measures and cognitive performance measures were taken before, then 5, 35, and 60 minutes after the termination of the nap.


METHODS
N/A.


METHODS
N/A.


METHODS
N/A.


RESULTS
In the no nap condition measures showed either no change or a decreases of alertness and performance across the testing period. Following the 10-minute nap there was an immediate improvement in subjective alertness and cognitive performance which was sustained for the hour of post nap testing. Immediately following the 30 minute nap most measures of alertness and performance declined but showed some recovery by the end of testing.


CONCLUSIONS
Because the delayed benefits following the 30-minute nap may be due to sleep inertia, longer post-nap testing periods should be investigated. However, we conclude that the detrimental effects of sleep restriction were more rapidly and significantly ameliorated, at least within the hour following the nap, by a 10-minute afternoon nap.
Tietzel
A J
AJ
Flinders University, Adelaide, S.A., Australia.
Lack
L C
LC
D000328:Adult; D002940:Circadian Rhythm / Q000502:physiology*; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology; D006970:Disorders of Excessive Somnolence / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005221:Fatigue / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012890:Sleep; D012892:Sleep Deprivation / Q000150:complications; D012894:Sleep Stages; D013997:Time Factors