The Effect of Naps on Cognitive Performance

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Most of us love napping. But how effective are they in maintaining good cognitive performance?

Sleep deprivation poses an important health and economic burden. It is associated with an increase in risk of various cardiometabolic, neurological, psychiatric disorders, as well as a burden of more than $400 billion annually in the US alone. It also impacts cognitive performance which can be measured with vigilant attention and placekeeping. The former is defined as the ability to maintain consistent attention over time, whereas the latter includes completing a series of steps without repetition in face of distractions and interruptions. Both are frequently used to measure cognitive performance in sleep deprivation. Since naps are popular ways to boost your energy in the afternoon, it is not entirely known if a short nap during the night instead of sleeping (e.g. important test in the morning) can actually mitigate the deprivation-induced negative cognitive effect.

Researchers led by University of Pittsburgh conducted a study with 280 participants who were divided into three groups: sleep deprived for one night, sleep deprived but allowed to take a nap 30-60 minutes, and those who slept normally. Researchers measured cognitive performance using vigilant attention and placekeeping methods. Expectedly, participants who slept normally had better scored than the deprived ones. On the other hand, one 30 min or 60 min nap overnight did not manage to completely mitigate the negative effects on cognition the next morning (see picture below). However, the amount of slow-wave (deep) sleep in participants who napped was associated with reduced performance deficits. Overall, in a real-world scenario example, this might indicate that it is not enough to sleep 60 min the night before an important meeting or exam if you want the best cognitive performance outcomes. 

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About the author

Alen Juginović is a medical doctor and postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Neurobiology at Harvard Medical School in Boston, MA, USA studying the effect of poor sleep quality on health. He is also organizing international award-winning projects such as Nobel Laureate conferences, international congresses, concerts and other, as well as participating in many events as a speaker. Feel free to contact him via LinkedIn for any inquiries.