Research Paper

Subjective Benefit Versus Sleep Inertia After Short Post Lunch Nap

Abstract :

AimThe aim of this randomized controlled study was to examine the subjective and objective effects of a ief post-lunch nap in the workplace.Participants 42-adult work at Royal Brisbane Hospital, Australia who had normal sleep-wake habits participated in a repeated measures study design comprising two experimental conditions: no-nap (placebo), and the 10 to 20-minute nap. Participants maintained normal nocturnal sleep times.MethodSubjective measures of alertness, energy and fatigue levels, and objective measures of performance on tasks measuring short-term memory, attention, vigilance and reaction time were taken before the intervention and at two intervals post-intervention (five minutes and two hours)ResultsThe no-nap condition revealed changes for some variables across the testing periods which may be attributable to a learning effect. Immediately following the nap, there was a decline in subjective alertness and energy levels, and an increase in fatigue levels due to sleep inertia. However, there was a significant improvement in subjective workplace efficiency assessed by the workplace Questionnaire (WPQ). Conclusion The results suggest that in the workplace environment a ief post-lunch nap is beneficial to subsequent afternoon subjective and objective performance and thus improves workplace efficiency.

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