Research

“The Effects of a Mid-Day Nap on the Neurocognitive Performance of First-Year Medical Residents”
Despite shorter duty hours, fatigue remains a problem among medical residents. The effects of a mid-day sleep on the performances of these residents have been tested in a two year, controlled interventional pilot study. Results show that a short, mid-day nap can improve cognitive functioning and alertness among first-year IM residents.
–Academic Medicine (2012), Vol. 87, No. 10, pp. 1428-1433.

“Siesta in Healthy Adults and Coronary Mortality in the General Population”
In a large population-based cohort of persons who, at enrollment, were free of medically substantiated CHD, stroke, or cancer and for whom risk factors for CHD, including diet and physical activity, were ascertained in detail, it was found that a siesta was associated with lower risk of coronary mortality. The inverse association was evident in men, among whom 85 coronary deaths were observed, but it was only marginal among women, among whom 48 coronary deaths were observed.
–Naska et al. (2007), Archives of Internal Medicine, 163(3), pp. 296-301.

“Improving Alertness and Performance in Emergency Department Physicians and Nurses: The Use of Planned Naps”
The first randomized trial of a nap intervention during the night shift for physicians and nurses, it was executed as a field study in the ED of a Level I trauma center. Results showed that a 40-minute nap opportunity allowed health care professionals to maintain their performance, self-reported alertness, and mood through the end of their night shift.
–Smith-Coggins et al. (2006), Annals of emergency medicine, 48( 5), pp. 596-604.

“Interns’ Compliance With Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education Work-Hour Limits”
A meta-analysis of studies investigating the effects of sleep loss on performance found that 24 hours of consecutive sleep loss reduced physicians' clinical performance to the 7th percentile of their performance when rested. In light of these studies, further reductions in current limits on consecutive duty hours appear to be needed.
–Landrigan et al. (2006), The Journal of the American Medical Association, 296( 9) , pp. 1063-1070.

“The restorative effect of naps on perceptual deterioration”
Human subjects were tested four times in one day and it was found that with repeated, within-day testing, perceptual thresholds increased progressively across the four test sessions. This performance deterioration was reversed by having the subjects take a mid-day nap between the second and the third sessions.
–Mednick, et al. (2002), Nature of Neuroscience, 5(7), pp. 677-680.

“NASA Study – Strategic Naps in Operational Settings”
Focusing on the prevention of the evolving physiological challenges facing around-the-clock demands, NASA found that a short nap improved vigilance performance by 16% in median reaction time and 34% in lapses when compared to the group of people that did not take a short daytime rest. This and many other studies demonstrate the effectiveness of naps to improve subsequent performance and alertness. Strategic naps can be used effectively to promote safety, performance, and productivity in operational settings.
–Rosekind et al. (1995), European Sleep Research Society, J. Sleep Res., 4( 2), pp.62-66.