Splitting sleep between the night and a daytime nap reduces homeostatic sleep pressure and enhances long-term memory

Sci Rep. 2021 Mar 5;11(1):5275. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-84625-8.

Abstract

Daytime naps have been linked with enhanced memory encoding and consolidation. It remains unclear how a daily napping schedule impacts learning throughout the day, and whether these effects are the same for well-rested and sleep restricted individuals. We compared memory in 112 adolescents who underwent two simulated school weeks containing 8 or 6.5 h sleep opportunities each day. Sleep episodes were nocturnal or split between nocturnal sleep and a 90-min afternoon nap, creating four experimental groups: 8 h-continuous, 8 h-split, 6.5 h-continuous and 6.5 h-split. Declarative memory was assessed with picture encoding and an educationally realistic factual knowledge task. Splitting sleep significantly enhanced afternoon picture encoding and factual knowledge under both 6.5 h and 8 h durations. Splitting sleep also significantly reduced slow-wave energy during nocturnal sleep, suggesting lower homeostatic sleep pressure during the day. There was no negative impact of the split sleep schedule on morning performance, despite a reduction in nocturnal sleep. These findings suggest that naps could be incorporated into a daily sleep schedule that provides sufficient sleep and benefits learning.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Cognition / physiology
  • Female
  • Homeostasis / physiology*
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Memory, Long-Term / physiology*
  • Polysomnography / methods
  • Random Allocation
  • Recognition, Psychology / physiology
  • Sleep Quality
  • Sleep, Slow-Wave / physiology*
  • Wakefulness / physiology*
  • Young Adult