Napping to modulate frustration and impulsivity: A pilot study

doi:10.1016/j.paid.2015.06.013

Personality and Individual Differences

Volume 86, November 2015, Pages 164-167

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2015.06.013 Get rights and content

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Nappers were able to tolerate frustration significantly longer than non-nappers.
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Non-nappers reported feeling more impulsive after a 60 minute period.
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Nappers reported feeling less impulsive after a 60 minute nap.

Abstract

Recent research has shown that napping can increase positive mood, and improve immune functioning, demonstrating the additional benefits of naps beyond reducing sleepiness and fatigue. Because prolonged wakefulness is becoming more common, it is becoming increasingly important to identify effective approaches to decrease resultant cognitive deficiencies. The present study aimed to examine the impact of a brief, midday nap on an aspect of executive functioning, emotional control. 40 subjects were randomized into a nap or no-nap condition, and emotional control was measured with a self-report impulsivity measure and frustration tolerance task. Results revealed that nappers showed a decrease in self-reported impulsivity and increased tolerance for frustration, while those in the no-nap condition showed the opposite pattern. These results indicate that emotional control may become impaired from wakefulness that builds across the day, and that napping may be an effective countermeasure.

Introduction

Understanding the benefits of napping for those who regularly experience prolonged wakefulness is crucial as the number of individuals who experience sleep loss or sleep disturbance is widespread. Currently, at least 28% of Americans get insufficient sleep (Pleis, Lucas, & Ward, 2009) while approximately 14% perform shift work which can significantly affect sleep quality (Drake, Kryger, & Phillips, 2005), and extend prior wakefulness. The literature has consistently demonstrated that sleep deprivation impairs cognitive functioning, decreasing cognitive speed and impairing attention and memory (Goel, Basner, Rao, & Dinges, 2013).

Sleep deprivation has also been shown to preferentially affect executive functioning (Durmer & Dinges, 2005). This may indicate that complex behaviors such as emotional control, which plays an important protective role in psychological functioning, may also be at risk. For example, sleep deprivation has been associated with a decreased ability to inhibit impulsive responses to a frustrating obstacle (Kahn-Greene, Lipizzi, Conrad, Kamimori, & Killgore, 2006). Similarly, increased impulsivity related to sleep deprivation also reduces one's ability to delay gratification (Killgore et al., 2008), which is generally related to more negative outcomes. Taken together, these studies provide evidence that one's ability to inhibit or regulate negative emotional responses deteriorate with prolonged wakefulness. What is not currently known, however, is how napping during the course of typical waking hours may affect emotional control.

Presently, the cognitive consequences of sleep deprivation are well understood (Durmer and Dinges, 2005, Goel et al., 2013). As a result, research on effective ways to decrease prolonged wakefulness and resultant fatigue is crucial in order to find ways to help those who are required to maintain high levels of accuracy and attention without attaining a full night of sleep, such as physicians and pilots, to perform properly. Napping has been identified as one of the most effective countermeasures to sleepiness and fatigue (Horne & Reyner, 1996).

Very recent research has also shown that a 30-minute nap can improve immune health that may have been compromised by prior sleep deprivation, indicating that napping provides benefits beyond reducing sleepiness and fatigue (Faraut et al., 2015). Indeed, studies that have examined the direct effects of napping on emotional functioning have generally found that napping increases positive emotions including energy (Taub, Tanguay, & Clarkson, 1976), motivation (Hayashi, Watanabe, & Hori, 1999), and joy (Luo & Inoué, 2000). There has been limited research, however, into how napping affects emotional control, specifically with regard to controlling negative emotional responses. One study recently showed that toddlers who were not permitted to nap showed more negative responses to an unsolvable task than did toddlers who napped (Berger, Miller, Seifer, Cares, & Lebourgeois, 2012), which may provide preliminary evidence that napping can facilitate this kind of emotional control. There is little research, however, on the direct effects of napping on controlling negative emotional responses, including frustration and impulsivity, in adults.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of napping on the regulation of frustration tolerance and impulsivity in a sample of healthy participants. Given that previous research has shown that sleep deprivation decreases the ability to inhibit impulses, we hypothesized that those who did not nap would show decreased tolerance for frustration and increased self-reported impulsivity. On the other hand, napping would increase frustration tolerance and decrease feelings of impulsivity.

Section snippets

Participants

Participants were recruited by fliers, newspaper ads, and internet recruitment sites in a Midwestern college town. Inclusion criteria included being between the ages of 18–50, the ability to speak and understand English fluently, and the ability to keep a consistent sleep schedule. Exclusion criteria included any history of serious medical disorders, sleep disorders, or pregnancy. All participants gave informed consent prior to the beginning of study. This study was approved by the relevant

Results

In order to determine if the groups were appropriately randomized, age, self-reported total sleep time, habitual sleepiness, and present sleepiness were examined. Results revealed no significant differences on all demographic variable scores between groups. Table 1 displays key demographic variables. Nappers were confirmed to have fallen asleep as indicated by self-report, and at least three successive 30-sec epochs of any stage of sleep.

Discussion

Consistent with our hypotheses, our results demonstrated that participants who did not have the opportunity to nap were less willing to endure frustration due to an unsolvable task, and reported feeling more impulsive. On the other hand, participants who napped showed increased tolerance for frustration on the unsolvable task compared to baseline, and reported feeling less impulsive on a self-report measure. Moreover, the results do not seem to be due to differences in either habitual total

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^☆: All authors report no conflicts of interest.

¹: Completed study design, data analyses, and writing of manuscript.

²: Provided consultation for study design, data analyses, and writing of manuscript.

³: Completed all data collection, and initial data analyses.

⁴: Provided data analyses support and all edits of manuscript.

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Short CommunicationNapping to modulate frustration and impulsivity: A pilot study☆

Highlight

Abstract

Introduction

Section snippets

Participants

Results

Discussion

Behavioural Brain Research

Psychiatry Research

Progress in Molecular Biology and Translational Science

Clinical Neurophysiology

Personality and Individual Differences

Sleep Medicine

Journal of Adolescence

Personality and Individual Differences

Acute sleep restriction effects on emotion responses in 30‐to 36‐month‐old children

Journal of Sleep Research

Increased impulsivity in response to food cues after sleep loss in healthy young men

Obesity

National sleep foundation

2005 Sleep in America Poll: Summary of Findings

Short Communication
Napping to modulate frustration and impulsivity: A pilot study☆