Abstract

We assessed the effect of a daytime sleep opportunity on planning and risk-related decision-making in emerging adults using multiple neurobehavioral assessments. A total of 136 healthy emerging adults (20.0 ± 1.5 years), 65% female, performed the Risky-Gains Task and the Tower of London test twice. Between these assessments, they were randomized to either have a sleep opportunity monitored by polysomnography (Sleep group, n = 101) or to stay awake (Wake group, n = 35). During Test 2, in comparison to the Sleep group, the Wake group showed increased sleepiness, worse planning ability and more decrease in reaction times when selecting risky choices. Changes in Tower of London test steps used and Risky-Gains Task response time correlated with the number of central and frontal fast sleep spindles, respectively. These results indicate that among emerging adults who commonly have poor sleep patterns, a daytime sleep opportunity was related to better planning ability, better psychomotor vigilance and stable response speeds in risk-related decision-making. Changes in planning and risk-related decision-making correlated with the number of sleep spindles during the nap, supporting a specific role for sleep in modulating planning and potentially other higher-order cognitive functions.

Details

Title
The protective effect of daytime sleep on planning and risk-related decision-making in emerging adults
Author
Wong, Mark Lawrence 1 ; Lau Esther Yuet Ying 2 ; Lam, Yeuk Ching 2 ; Rusak, Benjamin 3 ; Tseng Chia-huei 4 ; Lee Tatia Mei Chun 5 ; Wing Yun Kwok 6 

 Department of Psychology, University of Exeter , Devon, United Kingdom 
 Department of Psychology, The Education University of Hong Kong , Hong Kong 
 Department of Psychiatry, Dalhousie University , Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada 
 Research Institute of Electrical Communication, Tohoku University , Sendai, Japan 
 Department of Psychology, The University of Hong Kong , Hong Kong 
 Sleep Assessment Unit, Department of Psychiatry, The Chinese University of Hong Kong , Hong Kong 
Pages
1228-1237
Publication year
2020
Publication date
Nov 2020
Publisher
Oxford University Press
ISSN
17495016
e-ISSN
17495024
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
3171537842
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.