0797 THE CORRELATION BETWEEN NAPS AND OTHER SLEEP INDICES IN COLLEGE STUDENTS

• Published in: Sleep (New York, N.Y.) Vol. 40; no. suppl_1; p. A295
• Main Authors: Latham, MD, Smidt, AM, Allen, NB
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: US Oxford University Press 28.04.2017
• Subjects: College students; Efficiency; Sleep deprivation
• ISSN: 0161-8105; 1550-9109
• DOI: 10.1093/sleepj/zsx050.796

Abstract Introduction: College is a common time to nap frequently given self-chosen class schedules and the absence of parental supervision. Napping has been shown to correlate with students’ high achievement yet, there is little research on how naps affect other sleep indices. Knowledge of how naps affect total sleep time, sleep efficiency, sleep onset latency, and other important sleep indices, can offer insight into when, and for whom, naps can be beneficial. Methods: Fifty-four college students (age: M=19.58, SD=1.49; gender: 82.7% female) used actigraph watches (Actigraph Corp.) for an average of 7 days, recording their wake- and sleep-related movement. They completed sleep diaries each morning regarding their sleep the night before. Sleep diaries were used to inform actigraphy data calculated by Actilife software, specifically to obtain sleep-onset latency. Three participants provided unusable actigraphy data and were excluded from analyses. Results: Number of sleep periods over the course of one week (range: 6–15) was used as the measure of naps and correlated with actigraphy measures. More sleep periods correlated with less total sleep time (r = -.451, p = .001), less time awake after sleep onset (r = -.353, p = .011), fewer awakenings (r = -.498, p < .001), and increased sleep efficiency (r = .287, p = .041). There was also a trending correlation with shorter sleep onset latency (r = -.244, p = .084). Conclusion: The findings suggest that those students who are napping more are not getting enough sleep during the night and are incurring greater sleep debt, and hence greater sleep drive. This would explain an increased number of naps during the week, as well as greater efficiency of sleep during the hours they do sleep at night. Support (If Any): None.