This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Napping could reverse health consequences of sleep debt
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
Taking naps appears to release stress and deliver positive effects on immune responses, according to research published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.
Napping could help counter the detrimental health consequences of sleep debt, including harmful cardiovascular effects, according to researchers.
“Napping as a countermeasure to sleep restriction could, in addition to benefits on alertness, improve neuroendocrine stress and immune recovery with a potential prophylactic long-term effect on cardiovascular health,” the researchers wrote.
“Our data suggests a 30-minute nap can reverse the hormonal impact of a night of poor sleep,”
Brice Faraut, PhD, of the Université Paris Descartes-Sorbonne Paris Cité, Paris, said in a press release. “This is the first study that found napping could restore biomarkers of neuroendocrine and immune health to normal levels.”
Faraut and colleagues conducted a laboratory-based, crossover, randomized trial involving 11 healthy men aged 25 to 32 years; sleep-wake status, light environment and caloric intake were strictly controlled and polysomnography continuously monitored.
Participants were restricted to 2 hours of sleep for one night, followed by either a day without any naps or 30-minute naps in the morning and afternoon, then a recovery night of ad libitum sleep starting at 8 p.m.
The researchers assessed salivary interleukin-6 and urinary catecholamines throughout the daytime study periods to determine how restricted sleep and napping altered hormone levels.
The men showed a 2.5-fold increase in levels of norepinephrine after a night of limited sleep; however, the neurotransmitter increase was not seen in late afternoon in those who had the opportunity to take naps. Similarly, IL-6 levels were affected by sleep deprivation but normalized after napping.
During the recovery day, increased levels of afternoon epinephrine and dopamine were observed only in men without naps. Further, the recovery night was associated with a reduced amount of slow-wave sleep after naps compared with no naps.
“Napping may offer a way to counter the damaging effects of sleep restriction by helping the immune and neuroendocrine systems to recover,” Faraut said. “The findings support the development of practical strategies for addressing chronically sleep-deprived populations, such as night and shift workers.” – by Allegra Tiver
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts