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Session Schedule

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0:00:00
The relation between memory consolidation and nap transitions in early childhood
Rebecca Spencer (United States)

0:12:00
Napping in teens and young adults: Benefits on mood and cognition
Ju Lynn ong on behalf of Ruth Leong (Singapore)

0:34:35
To nap or not to nap? Impact of napping on cognition in the ageing brain
Vincenzo Muto (Belgium)

0:56:30
Associations of intentional and unintentional naps with health and psychological wellbeing at different ages
Francesca Conte (Italy)

Summary

Daytime naps are well known for their beneficial effects, such as serving as a countermeasure for sleep loss or enhancing psychological functions. However, epidemiological studies increasingly suggest that habitual napping may act as a risk factor for elderlies' health, including cognitive decline and altered circadian regulation of sleep. These seemingly contradictory results may be partly explained by differences in study methodologies and contexts, e.g. the distinction between spontaneous naps in real-world settings and the controlled effects of acute napping observed in laboratory experiments. Napping is also a universal behavior in early life and critical for health and development. Over the lifespan, however, the reasons for napping and its implications can change significantly. This symposium aims at providing an overview of recent findings on the association between napping and health outcomes across different age ranges. Emphasis will be placed on regulatory processes, such as ‘nap need’, and on factors that may help explain the apparently contrasting results across studies.
First, Dr. Rebecca Spencer (University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USA) will present on the role of naps in memory and how this function predicts the transition out of naps in early childhood. Dr. Ruth Leong (Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, Singapore) will discuss the protective role of napping as well its optimal duration for mood and cognition in adolescents and young adults. Dr. Vincenzo Muto (University of Liege, Belgium) will present data on habitual napping in healthy aging and its modulatory potential on cognitive and cerebral correlates. Finally, Dr. Francesca Conte (University of Campania, Italy) will discuss data comparing napping in young and older adults by focusing on the importance of nap intentionality as a modulating factor. This symposium is conceived to integrate novel findings on napping-health-cognition relationships by adopting future developmental approach, which is highly needed, considering that that insufficient and/or mis-timed sleep represent dominant health determinants across lifespan.
The chairs believe that this symposium is of high relevance as it integrates recent studies and attempts to discuss apparently discrepant findings about napping and its association with health risk factors.
The idea of this symposium came up in response to a discussion that was initiated during a symposium about napping at the last ESRS Congress (2022, Athens). Here the context was extended with an additional focus on the whole life span and by integrating different facets of health indicators to get a more general overview of the complex relationship between napping and health. Note: Gender and the international character of symposium speakers were considered.

Learning Objectives:

Upon completion of this CME activity, participants will be able to:
• Identify the various functions of naps for cognitive, mental, and physical health at a specific age, namely early childhood
• Recognize how napping habituality and intentionality affect nap function and nap effects at that particular moment of the life span
• Summarize the various functions of naps for cognitive, mental, and physical health in teens
• Describe interactions of naps and overnight sleep at that specific age
• Define the various functions of naps for cognitive, mental, and physical health across ageing
• Recognize the role of nap length and physiology in the function of naps, as well as naps-overnight sleep interactions, in the aged individual
• Familiarize with different aspects (i.e., frequency, sleep quality) of unintentional napping
• Interpret its associations with health and psychological wellbeing measures at different ages