Impact of daytime napping on circadian markers, cognition and brain integrity in the aged

Impact of napping on neurobehavioral function across lifespan

Number: 163
Room: Lecture Hall C (N. Skalkotas) Level -1
Language: English
Type: Basic Human
Date: 28 September 2022 09:15 - 10:45

Napping is frequently advertised as an activity that promotes health, and research points to nap sleep being beneficial for the consolidation of previously acquired memories, highlighting its clinical value. Nap sleep has been suggested as a potential countermeasure to keep stable cognitive performance despite reduced night-time sleep opportunities. In older adults, however, epidemiological evidence links chronic napping to cognitive decline and increased risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease. In this symposium we aim to highlight the causes and/or consequences of daytime sleep on cognition and to discuss potential mechanisms underlying napping and cognition across different age groups. Dr.J.Lo will present data on the cognitive effects of split sleep schedules in adolescents as a potential countermeasure to keep total sleep opportunity within the recommended range. Dr.Y.Leng will present epidemiological evidence of the association between napping and cognitive impairment in the elderly and discuss underlying implications of these epidemiological findings. Dr.C.Schmidt will focus on the impact of different nap characteristics on sleep, circadian rhythm markers, and brain integrity in the aged. Finally, Dr.S.Postnova will complete the picture by presenting physiologically-based model predictions on the impact of different sleep schedules on neurobehavioral outcomes. The proposal integrates novel findings using a variety of approaches (in-lab, epidemiological, computational) to characterize pathways by which the sleep-wake cycle, or more specifically sleep schedules, affect cognition. The topic is of high relevance, since both cognitive impairment and insufficient or mistimed sleep represent dominant health determinants across lifespan, and easy implementable interventions are urgently needed.