Effects of Afternoon “Siesta” Naps on Sleep, Alertness, Performance, and Circadian Rhythms in the Elderly

Monk, Timothy H.; Buysse, Daniel J.; Carrier, Julie; Billy, Bart D.; Rose, Lynda R.

doi:10.1093/sleep/24.6.680

Cited by 129 publications

(140 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…Thus, simply gaining more total sleep time is insufficient to produce memory benefits in older adults. 50 By contrast, our findings are compatible with the view that age-related changes in sleep physiology, cognitive processing, or other relevant underlying neurophysiology preclude an afternoon nap from being as strongly restorative for episodic memory in older adults as in healthy young adults. Regarding sleep-specific mechanisms, if a specific quantity/quality of slow-wave sleep is necessary for any memory consolidation to occur, then no nap duration will benefit older adults' memory if the slow-wave sleep requirement is not met.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

The Effects of an Afternoon Nap on Episodic Memory in Young and Older Adults

Scullin

Fairley

Decker

et al. 2017

Sleep

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Study Objectives: In young adults, napping is hypothesized to benefit episodic memory retention (eg, via consolidation). Whether this relationship is present in older adults has not been adequately tested but is an important question because older adults display marked changes in sleep and memory. Design: Between-subjects design. Setting: Sleep laboratory at Emory University School of Medicine. Participants: Fifty healthy young adults (18-29) and 45 community-dwelling older adults (58-83). Intervention: Participants were randomly assigned to a 90-minute nap opportunity or an equal interval of quiet wakefulness. Measurements and Results: Participants underwent an item-wise directed forgetting learning procedure in which they studied words that were individually followed by the instruction to "remember" or "forget." Following a 90-minute retention interval filled with quiet wakefulness or a nap opportunity, they were asked to free recall and recognize those words. Young adults retained significantly more words following a nap interval than a quiet wakefulness interval on both free recall and recognition tests. There was modest evidence for greater nap-related retention of "remember" items relative to "forget" items for free recall but not recognition. Older adults' memory retention did not differ across nap and quiet wakefulness conditions, although they demonstrated greater fragmentation, lower N3, and lower rapid eye movement duration than the young adults. Conclusions: In young adults, an afternoon nap benefits episodic memory retention, but such benefits decrease with advancing age.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

The Effects of an Afternoon Nap on Episodic Memory in Young and Older Adults

Scullin

Fairley

Decker

et al. 2017

Sleep

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“…Because daytime sleep has been shown to increase alertness and improve a range of cognitive functions (perceptual, verbal, and motor learning; declarative and implicit memory) (18,(21)(22)(23)(24), we tested whether sleep or quiet rest might enhance general creativity on new RAT items. Baseline assessments were measured on the morning RAT.…”

Section: Figmentioning

confidence: 99%

REM, not incubation, improves creativity by priming associative networks

Cai

Mednick

Harrison

et al. 2009

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

424

331

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The hypothesized role of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, which is rich in dreams, in the formation of new associations, has remained anecdotal. We examined the role of REM on creative problem solving, with the Remote Associates Test (RAT). Using a nap paradigm, we manipulated various conditions of prior exposure to elements of a creative problem. Compared with quiet rest and non-REM sleep, REM enhanced the formation of associative networks and the integration of unassociated information. Furthermore, these REM sleep benefits were not the result of an improved memory for the primed items. This study shows that compared with quiet rest and non-REM sleep, REM enhances the integration of unassociated information for creative problem solving, a process, we hypothesize, that is facilitated by cholinergic and noradrenergic neuromodulation during REM sleep.The night before Easter Sunday of that year I awoke, turned on the light, and jotted down a few notes on a tiny slip of paper. Then I fell asleep again. It occurred to me at 6 o'clock in the morning that during the night I had written down something most important, but I was unable to decipher the scrawl. The next night, at 3 o'clock, the idea returned. It was the design of an experiment to determine whether or not the hypothesis of chemical transmission that I had uttered 17 years ago was correct. I got up immediately, went to the laboratory, and performed a single experiment on a frog's heart according to the nocturnal design.Otto Loewi, 1938 German, Nobel laureate for his work on the chemical transmission of nerve impulses.

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“…When assessing healthy elderly without complaints related to nocturnal sleep, authors found that 90 minutes naps between 13h30 and 15h00, established in the study protocol, although it resulted in lower efficiency of nocturnal sleep, it also positively influenced psychomotor performance after the period of the nap (6) .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perfil dos idosos que cochilam

Santos

Oliveira

Freitas

et al. 2013

Rev. esc. enferm. USP

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RESUMO ABSTRACTThis study aimed to characterize the elderly who naps according to sociodemographic characteristics and frailty. A descriptive, cross-sectional study part of the multicenter project Frailty in the Elderly Brazilians. We evaluated 1,866 elderly people using a sociodemographic questionnaire. The frailty was assessed using the phenotype proposed by Fried. The data were analyzed with descriptive statistics. The results showed that the profile of the elderly who naps consists predominantly of women, married, retired, pre-frail, with an average age of 73 years, four years of study, with monthly family income of 3.9 minimum salary, with 4,4 children who were living with them only. The elderly reported napping on average 5.9 days per week, lasting 53.5 minutes per nap. Knowing the profile of the elderly who naps contributes to health professionals in the development of actions in relation to sleep problems of the frail/pre-frail elderly, preventing, minimizing or solving these problems. DESCRIPTORS Aged Sleep Geriatric nursing RESUMEnEl objetivo de este estudio fue caracterizar a adultos mayores que dormitan según las características socio-demográficas y de fragilidad. Estudio descriptivo, transversal, un recorte del proyecto multicéntrico Fragilidad en los adultos mayores brasileños. Fueron evaluados 1866 adultos mayores mediante el cuestionario socio-demográfico. La fragilidad se evaluó mediante el fenotipo propuesto por Fried. Los datos fueron procesados mediante estadística descriptiva. Los resultados mostraron que el perfil del anciano que dormita fue constituido principalmente por mujeres, casadas, jubiladas, pre-frágiles, siendo el promedio de edad de 73 años, cuatro años de educación, con ingreso familiar mensual de 3,9 sueldos mínimos, con 4,4 hijos, y que vivían sólo con sus hijos. Los adultos mayores reportaron dormitar en promedio 5,9 días por semana, con duración de 53,5 minutos por siesta. Conocer el perfil de los adultos mayores que dormitan contribuye para que los profesionales de la salud desarrollen acciones relacionadas con los problemas de sueño de los adultos mayores frágiles/ pre-frágiles, previniendo, minimizando o resolviendo estos problemas.

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Effects of Afternoon “Siesta” Naps on Sleep, Alertness, Performance, and Circadian Rhythms in the Elderly

Cited by 129 publications

References 20 publications

The Effects of an Afternoon Nap on Episodic Memory in Young and Older Adults

The Effects of an Afternoon Nap on Episodic Memory in Young and Older Adults

REM, not incubation, improves creativity by priming associative networks

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