1. THE EFFECT OF A DAYTIME NAP ON LEARNING A NOVEL AVIATION TASK.
- Author
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Beasley, Nicole, Blacker, Kara, Alger, Sara, and Caldwell, Lynn
- Subjects
NAPS (Sleep) ,LONG-term memory ,EXPLICIT memory ,SLEEP stages ,DROWSINESS ,LEARNING ability ,SLEEP-wake cycle - Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Research has shown the positive effects of sleep on learning and memory. While most work focuses on the effects of a full night of sleep, evidence suggests that a daytime nap has similar effects on improving learning. This notion could be capitalized on when training aircrew. Here we examined the effects of a nap on 3 learning tasks. METHOD: Participants (N=75) were randomly assigned to a nap or rest group. The study protocol was approved by the NAMRU-D IRB. Both groups completed: a) a paired associates task (PAT), used to measure declarative memory, b) a finger tapping task (FTT), used to assess procedural memory, and c) an aerial flight maneuvering (AFM) task, used to measure participants' ability to learn to fly a simulated aircraft through a series of targets (e.g., hoops). All tasks were performed in the morning (i.e., test), followed by a 2 hr nap or rest opportunity and then tasks were performed again 30 min after the nap/rest (i.e., retest). EEG was recorded throughout, including polysomnography during the nap. Outcome variables were analyzed using a 2 (time) x 2 (group) repeated-measures ANOVA. RESULTS: For the AFM task, we found a significant time x group interaction for both mean distance from the target, p=.01, and percentage of targets hit, p=.002. The nap group demonstrated improved performance at retest compared to the rest group. Within the nap group, we also found that amount of stage 2 sleep was significantly associated with better learning, p=.025. The EEG data during the AFM task demonstrated an opposite effect in beta power changes, whereby the rest group saw a significant increase at retest compared to test, p=.012, and the nap group saw a significant decrease, p=.008. The PAT and FTT tasks did not elicit any significant behavioral or EEG results. DISCUSSION: We found that a daytime nap significantly improved learning performance on a novel aviation task compared to an equivalent rest period. This improvement was evident in both behavioral performance and EEG results. These results suggest that daytime napping could be incorporated into work/rest guidance as a strategy to improve new aircrew training. Learning Objectives 1. Understand the effects of sleep on different forms of learning and memory. 2. This study showed that a daytime nap can help individuals learn a novel task faster than rest alone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024