title: Effects of napping on sleepiness and sleep-related performance deficits in night-shift workers: a systematic review.
abstract: Night-shift workers are prone to sleep deprivation, misalignment of circadian rhythms, and subsequent sleepiness and sleep-related performance deficits. The purpose of this narrative systematic review is to critically review and synthesize the scientific literature regarding improvements in sleepiness and sleep-related performance deficits following planned naps taken during work-shift hours by night workers and to recommend directions for future research and practice. We conducted a literature search using the Medline, PsychInfo, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, and Health and Safety Science Abstracts databases and included English-language quasi-experimental and experimental studies that evaluated the effects of a nighttime nap taken during a simulated or actual night-work shift. We identified 13 relevant studies, which consisted primarily of small samples and mixed designs. Most investigators found that, despite short periods of sleep inertia immediately following naps, night-shift napping led to decreased sleepiness and improved sleep-related performance. None of the studies examined the effects of naps on safety outcomes in the workplace. Larger-scale randomized clinical trials of night-shift napping and direct safety outcomes are needed prior to wider implementation.
authors: 1College of Nursing, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, Newark, NJ, USA.
authors: Jeanne S
authors: JS
authors: Ruggiero
authors: Nancy S
authors: NS
authors: Redeker
mesh_terms: D005221:Fatigue; D006801:Humans; D012890:Sleep; D012892:Sleep Deprivation / Q000503:physiopathology*; D014940:Work Schedule Tolerance
keywords: napping; performance; psychomotor vigilance; sleep; sleepiness; systematic review