Dataset Information

Psychosocial Stress Before a Nap Increases Sleep Latency and Decreases Early Slow-Wave Activity.

ABSTRACT: Sleep disturbances are an important risk factor for stress-related diseases such as burnout or depression. In particular, slow-wave activity (SWA) during sleep might be eminently relevant for optimal maintenance of mental health and cognitive functioning. In spite of the clinical importance and the pertinence of stress-related processes in everyday life, the physiological mechanisms of the association between stress, sleep, and cognition are not well-understood. In the present study, we carefully mapped the time course of the influence of a psychosocial stressor on sleep architecture and sleep-related oscillations during a midday nap. We induced stress using a psychosocial laboratory stressor, the Montreal Imaging Stress Task, vs. a neutral control task. Afterward, participants were allowed to take a 90-min nap (n = 20) or stayed awake (n = 19) and cortisol was measured via saliva samples. We hypothesized that stress would decrease sleep efficiency and SWA in a time-dependent manner, with impairing effects on cognitive functioning. Psychosocial stress resulted in increased cortisol levels, which were elevated throughout the study interval. In the nap group, psychosocial stress increased sleep latency, but had only minor effects on sleep architecture. Still, SWA in the first 30 min of sleep was significantly reduced, whereas alpha activity was enhanced. These effects vanished after approximately 30 min. No impairing effect on cognitive functioning occurred. Our results show that psychosocial stress before sleep has an impact on sleep latency and early SWA during sleep. In contrast to our hypothesis, the effects were rather small and short-lasting. Importantly, cognitive functioning was maintained. We conclude that the effects of psychosocial stress before a nap are possibly better compensated than previously believed.

SUBMITTER: Ackermann S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6355712 | biostudies-other | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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Psychosocial Stress Before a Nap Increases Sleep Latency and Decreases Early Slow-Wave Activity.

Ackermann Sandra S Cordi Maren M La Marca Roberto R Seifritz Erich E Rasch Björn B

Frontiers in psychology 20190125

Sleep disturbances are an important risk factor for stress-related diseases such as burnout or depression. In particular, slow-wave activity (SWA) during sleep might be eminently relevant for optimal maintenance of mental health and cognitive functioning. In spite of the clinical importance and the pertinence of stress-related processes in everyday life, the physiological mechanisms of the association between stress, sleep, and cognition are not well-understood. In the present study, we carefull ...[more]

PMID: 30740070

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Project description:IntroductionMillions of people worldwide take medications such as L-DOPA that increase dopamine to treat Parkinson's disease. Yet, we do not fully understand how L-DOPA affects sleep and memory. Our earlier research in Parkinson's disease revealed that the timing of L-DOPA relative to sleep affects dopamine's impact on long-term memory. Dopamine projections between the midbrain and hippocampus potentially support memory processes during slow wave sleep. In this study, we aimed to test the hypothesis that L-DOPA enhances memory consolidation by modulating NREM sleep.MethodsWe conducted a double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled crossover trial with healthy older adults (65-79 years, n = 35). Participants first learned a word list and were then administered long-acting L-DOPA (or placebo) before a full night of sleep. Before sleeping, a proportion of the words were re-exposed using a recognition test to strengthen memory. L-DOPA was active during sleep and the practice-recognition test, but not during initial learning.ResultsThe single dose of L-DOPA increased total slow-wave sleep duration by approximately 11% compared to placebo, while also increasing spindle amplitudes around slow oscillation peaks and around 1-4 Hz NREM spectral power. However, behaviourally, L-DOPA worsened memory of words presented only once compared to re-exposed words. The coupling of spindles to slow oscillation peaks correlated with these differential effects on weaker and stronger memories. To gauge whether L-DOPA affects encoding or retrieval of information in addition to consolidation, we conducted a second experiment targeting L-DOPA only to initial encoding or retrieval and found no behavioural effects.DiscussionOur results demonstrate that L-DOPA augments slow wave sleep in elderly, perhaps tuning coordinated network activity and impacting the selection of information for long-term storage. The pharmaceutical modification of slow-wave sleep and long-term memory may have clinical implications.Clinical trial registrationEudract number: 2015-002027-26; https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN90897064, ISRCTN90897064.

Dataset Information

Psychosocial Stress Before a Nap Increases Sleep Latency and Decreases Early Slow-Wave Activity.

Publications

Psychosocial Stress Before a Nap Increases Sleep Latency and Decreases Early Slow-Wave Activity.

Similar Datasets

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