Effects of a 20-Min Nap Post Normal and Jet Lag Conditions on P300 Components in Athletes

Abstract

Post-lunch sleepiness belongs to biological rhythms. Athletes take a nap to counteract afternoon circadian nadir, in prevision of disturbed sleep. This study examined the effects of brief post-lunch nap on vigilance in young and healthy athletes. The P300 components, physiological and cognitive performances were assessed either after nap or rest, following a night of normal sleep (NSC) or simulated jet lag condition (5-h advance-JLC). P300 wave is the positive deflection at about 300 ms in response to a rare stimulus, representing higher information processing. P300 amplitude reflects the amount of attention allocated whereas P300 latency reflects time spent on stimulus classification. P300 amplitude was significantly increased (Fz:11.14±3.0vs9.05±3.2 µV; p<0.05) and P300 latency was shorter (Pz:327.16±18.0vs344.90±17.0 ms; p<0.01) after nap in NSC. These changes were accompanied by lower subjective sleepiness (19.7±9.6vs27.5±16.5; p<0.05) and decrease in mean reaction times (MRT: divided attention, 645.1±74.2vs698±80.4 ms; p<0.05). In contrast, in JLC, only P300 amplitudes (Fz:10.30±3.1vs7.54±3.3 µV; p<0.01 and Cz: 11.48±3.1vs9.77±3.6 µV; p<0.05) increased but P300 latencies or MRT did not improve. These results indicated improvements in speed of stimulus evaluation time. Napping positively impacts on cognitive processing, especially when subjects are on normal sleep schedules. A nap should be planned for athletes whose performance requires speedy and accurate decisions.

Key words

Event-related potentials - vigilance - athletes - short daytime nap - polysomnography - simulated jet lag

• References

• 1 Asaoka S, Fukuda K, Murphy TI, Abe T, Inoue Y. The effects of a nighttime nap on the error-monitoring functions during extended wakefulness. Sleep 2012; 35: 871-878
• 2 Bastuji H, Perrin F, Garcia-Larrea L. Event-related potentials during forced awakening: A tool for the study of acute sleep inertia. J Sleep Res 2003; 12: 189-206
• 3 Belenky G, Wesensten NJ, Thorne DR, Thomas ML, Sing HC, Redmond DP, Russo MB, Balkin TJ. Patterns of performance degradation and restoration during sleep restriction and subsequent recovery: A sleep dose-response study. J Sleep Res 2003; 12: 1-12
• 4 Bond AJ, James DC, Lader MH. Physiological and psychological measures in anxious patients. Psychol Med 1974; 4: 364-373
• 5 Bonnet MH. The effect of varying prophylactic naps on performance, alertness and mood throughout a 52-hour continuous operation. Sleep 1991; 14: 307-315
• 6 Brooks A, Lack L. A brief afternoon nap following nocturnal sleep restriction: Which nap duration is most recuperative?. Sleep 2006; 29: 831-840
• 7 Caldwell JA, Caldwell JL. Comparison of the effects of Zolpidem-induced prophylactic naps to placebo naps and forced rest periods in prolonged work schedules. Sleep 1998; 21: 79-90
• 8 Campbell KB, Colrain IM. Event-related potential measures of the inhibition of information processing: II. The sleep onset period. Int J Psychophysiol 2002; 46: 197-214
• 9 Campbell SS, Murphy PJ, Stauble TN. Effects of a nap on nighttime sleep and waking function in older subjects. J Am Geriatr Soc 2005; 53: 48-53
• 10 Chapdelaine S, Paquet J, Dumont M. Effects of partial circadian adjustments on sleep and vigilance quality during simulated night work. J Sleep Res 2012; 21: 380-389
• 11 Cote KA, De Lugt DR, Campbell KB. Changes in the scalp topography of event-related potentials and behavioral responses during the sleep onset period. Psychophysiology 2002; 39: 29-37
• 12 Cote KA, Milner CE, Osip SL, Ray LB, Baxter KD. Waking quantitative electroencephalogram and auditory event-related potentials following experimentally induced sleep fragmentation. Sleep 2003; 26: 687-694
• 13 Debarnot U, Castellani E, Valenza G, Sebastiani L, Guillot A. Daytime naps improve motor imagery learning. Cogn Affect Behav Neurosci 2011; 11: 541-550
• 14 Dijk DJ, Duffy JF, Silva EJ, Shanahan TL, Boivin DB, Czeisler CA. Amplitude reduction and phase shifts of melatonin, cortisol and other circadian rhythms after a gradual advance of sleep and light exposure in humans. PLoS One 2012; 7: e30037
• 15 Dinges DF, Orne MT, Whitehouse WG, Orne EC. Temporal placement of a nap for alertness: Contributions of circadian phase and prior wakefulness. Sleep 1987; 10: 313-329
• 16 Geisler MW, Polich J. P300 and time of day: Circadian rhythms, food intake, and body temperature. Biol Psychol 1990; 31: 117-136
• 17 Groeger JA, Lo JC, Burns CG, Dijk DJ. Effects of sleep inertia after daytime naps vary with executive load and time of day. Behav Neurosci 2011; 125: 252-260
• 18 Hansenne M. [The p300 cognitive event-related potential. II. Individual variability and clinical application in psychopathology]. Neurophysiol Clin 2000; 30: 211-231
• 19 Harriss DJ, Macsween A, Atkinson G. Standards for ethics in sport and exercise science research: 2018 update. Int J Sports Med 2017; 38: 1126-1131
• 20 Hayashi M, Ito S, Hori T. The effects of a 20-min nap at noon on sleepiness, performance and EEG activity. Int J Psychophysiol 1999; 32: 173-180
• 21 Hayashi M, Motoyoshi N, Hori T. Recuperative power of a short daytime nap with or without stage 2 sleep. Sleep 2005; 28: 829-836
• 22 Hayashi M, Watanabe M, Hori T. The effects of a 20 min nap in the mid-afternoon on mood, performance and EEG activity. Clin Neurophysiol 1999; 110: 272-279
• 23 Higuchi S, Liu Y, Yuasa T, Maeda A, Motohashi Y. Diurnal variation in the P300 component of human cognitive event-related potential. Chronobiol Int 2000; 17: 669-678
• 24 Huang J, Katsuura T, Shimomura Y, Iwanaga K. Diurnal changes of ERP response to sound stimuli of varying frequency in morning-type and evening-type subjects. J Physiol Anthropol 2006; 25: 49-54
• 25 Kaida K, Nittono H, Hayashi M, Hori T. Effects of self-awakening on sleep structure of a daytime short nap and on subsequent arousal levels. Percept Mot Skills 2003; 97: 1073-1084
• 26 Kaida K, Ogawa K, Nittono H, Hayashi M, Takahashi M, Hori T. Self-awakening, sleep inertia, and P3 amplitude in elderly people. Percept Mot Skills 2006; 102: 339-351
• 27 Kingshott RN, Cosway RJ, Deary IJ, Douglas NJ. The effect of sleep fragmentation on cognitive processing using computerized topographic brain mapping. J Sleep Res 2000; 9: 353-357
• 28 Krauchi K, Cajochen C, Pache M, Flammer J, Wirz-Justice A. Thermoregulatory effects of melatonin in relation to sleepiness. Chronobiol Int 2006; 23: 475-484
• 29 Lee A, Galvez JC. Jet lag in athletes. Sports Health 2012; 4: 211-216
• 30 Lopez-Calderon J, Luck SJ. ERPLAB: An open-source toolbox for the analysis of event-related potentials. Front Hum Neurosci 2014; 8: 213
• 31 Luck SJ. An Introduction to the Event-Related Potential Technique. 2005. The MIT Press;
• 32 Milner CE, Cote KA. A dose-response investigation of the benefits of napping in healthy young, middle-aged and older adults. Sleep Biol Rhythms 2008; 6: 2-15
• 33 Milner CE, Cote KA. Benefits of napping in healthy adults: Impact of nap length, time of day, age, and experience with napping. J Sleep Res 2009; 18: 272-281
• 34 O'Connor PJ, Morgan WP, Koltyn KF, Raglin JS, Turner JG, Kalin NH. Air travel across four time zones in college swimmers. J Appl Physiol 1991; 70: 756-763
• 35 Petit E, Mougin F, Bourdin H, Tio G, Haffen E. A 20-min nap in athletes changes subsequent sleep architecture but does not alter physical performances after normal sleep or 5-h phase-advance conditions. Eur J Appl Physiol 2014; 114: 305-315
• 36 Petit E, Mougin F, Bourdin H, Tio G, Haffen E. Impact of 5-h phase advance on sleep architecture and physical performance in athletes. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab 2014; 39: 1230-1236
• 37 Picton TW. The P300 wave of the human event-related potential. J Clin Neurophysiol 1992; 9: 456-479
• 38 Polich J. Updating P300: An integrative theory of P3a and P3b. Clin Neurophysiol 2007; 118: 2128-2148
• 39 Takahashi M. The role of prescribed napping in sleep medicine. Sleep Med Rev 2003; 7: 227-235
• 40 Takahashi M, Arito H. Maintenance of alertness and performance by a brief nap after lunch under prior sleep deficit. Sleep 2000; 23: 813-819
• 41 Takahashi M, Fukuda H, Arito H. Brief naps during post-lunch rest: effects on alertness, performance, and autonomic balance. Eur J Appl Physiol Occup Physiol 1998; 78: 93-98
• 42 Tietzel AJ, Lack LC. The short-term benefits of brief and long naps following nocturnal sleep restriction. Sleep 2001; 24: 293-300
• 43 Tietzel AJ, Lack LC. The recuperative value of brief and ultra-brief naps on alertness and cognitive performance. J Sleep Res 2002; 11: 213-218
• 44 Van Dongen HP, Price NJ, Mullington JM, Szuba MP, Kapoor SC, Dinges DF. Caffeine eliminates psychomotor vigilance deficits from sleep inertia. Sleep 2001; 24: 813-819
• 45 Verleger R, Gorgen S, Jaskowski P. An ERP indicator of processing relevant gestalts in masked priming. Psychophysiology 2005; 42: 677-690
• 46 Waterhouse J, Atkinson G, Edwards B, Reilly T. The role of a short post-lunch nap in improving cognitive, motor, and sprint performance in participants with partial sleep deprivation. J Sports Sci 2007; 25: 1557-1566
• 47 Zhao D, Zhang Q, Fu M, Tang Y, Zhao Y. Effects of physical positions on sleep architectures and post-nap functions among habitual nappers. Biol Psychol 2010; 83: 207-213
• 48 Zimmermann P, Fimm B. A test battery for attentional performance. In: Leclerq M, Zimmermann P. Applied Neuropsychology of Attention: Theory, Diagnosis and Rehabilitation. London: Psychology Press 2002: 110 -151
• 49 Zukerman G, Goldstein A, Babkoff H. The effect of 24-40 hours of sleep deprivation on the P300 response to auditory target stimuli. Aviat Space Environ Med 2007; 78: B216-B223