December 05, 2006
Power Nap to Remember
Going night after night without sleep makes us absent minded, and now we may know why
Going night after night without sleep makes us absent-minded, and now we may know why. In rats, sleep deprivation causes stress hormones to accumulate in a part of the brain called the hippocampus, which in turn stunts the growth of cells that lay down new memories.
"This decrease in neuron production coincided with an increase in the major rodent stress hormone, corticosterone," says Elizabeth Gould, head of the team at Princeton University that made the discovery. When Gould stopped production of the hormone in rats by removing their adrenal glands, the animals carried on producing new neurons as normal despite being deprived of sleep (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0608644103).
"We concluded that sleep deprivation decreases neurogenesis by elevating stress hormones," says Gould. The results tally with earlier studies showing that sleep-deprived people are worse at remembering how to do newly learned tasks than they are normally. ...
Going night after night without sleep makes us absent-minded, and now we may know why. In rats, sleep deprivation causes stress hormones to accumulate in a part of the brain called the hippocampus, which in turn stunts the growth of cells that lay down new memories.
"This decrease in neuron production coincided with an increase in the major rodent stress hormone, corticosterone," says Elizabeth Gould, head of the team at Princeton University that made the discovery. When Gould stopped production of the hormone in rats by removing their adrenal glands, the animals carried on producing new neurons as normal despite being deprived of sleep (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0608644103).
"We concluded that sleep deprivation decreases neurogenesis by elevating stress hormones," says Gould. The results tally with earlier studies showing that sleep-deprived people are worse at remembering how to do newly learned tasks than they are normally. ...
Power Naps for Doctors
Napping on the job isn't necessarily a bad thing if you're an emergency room doctor or nurse, a new study finds.
A Stanford University School of Medicine study found that ER doctors and nurses who were allowed to have a short nap while on the night shift came back in a better mood, were more alert, and better able to complete a simulated intravenous (IV) insertion than those who didn't get a nap.
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The findings are in the November issue of the journalAnnals of Emergency Medicine.
"Napping is a very powerful, very inexpensive way of improving our work," study co-author Dr. Steven Howard, associate professor of anesthesia and an expert on sleep deprivation and fatigue, said in a prepared statement.
The study included 24 nurses and 25 doctors who worked from 7:30 p.m. to 7:30 a.m. in Stanford Hospital's ER. The participants were divided into two groups. One group worked through the night as usual, while those in the other group were allowed a 40-minute nap at 3 a.m.
At the end of the shift, both groups were put through a series of tests including a 40-minute simulated car drive; a 10-minute written memory test; a computer-based IV insertion simulation; and a questionnaire designed to assess moods such as anger, confusion, depression, fatigue, tension, and vigor.
Nurses and doctors who had a nap had fewer performance lapses and reported more vigor, less fatigue and less sleepiness. They also did much better on the driving and IV insertion tests.
This study adds to the scientific evidence that workers can benefit from naps. Despite this proof, there's still a cultural bias -- i.e., people who nap are lazy -- that prevents widespread implementation of napping programs in U.S. workplaces, Howard said.
A Stanford University School of Medicine study found that ER doctors and nurses who were allowed to have a short nap while on the night shift came back in a better mood, were more alert, and better able to complete a simulated intravenous (IV) insertion than those who didn't get a nap.
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technorati.article = new item('Mid-Shift Nap Boosts ER Docs\' Performance','http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/21/AR2006112101088.html','TUESDAY, Nov. 21 (HealthDay News) -- Napping on the job isn\'t necessarily a bad thing if you\'re an emergency room doctor or nurse, a new study finds.','') ;
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The findings are in the November issue of the journalAnnals of Emergency Medicine.
"Napping is a very powerful, very inexpensive way of improving our work," study co-author Dr. Steven Howard, associate professor of anesthesia and an expert on sleep deprivation and fatigue, said in a prepared statement.
The study included 24 nurses and 25 doctors who worked from 7:30 p.m. to 7:30 a.m. in Stanford Hospital's ER. The participants were divided into two groups. One group worked through the night as usual, while those in the other group were allowed a 40-minute nap at 3 a.m.
At the end of the shift, both groups were put through a series of tests including a 40-minute simulated car drive; a 10-minute written memory test; a computer-based IV insertion simulation; and a questionnaire designed to assess moods such as anger, confusion, depression, fatigue, tension, and vigor.
Nurses and doctors who had a nap had fewer performance lapses and reported more vigor, less fatigue and less sleepiness. They also did much better on the driving and IV insertion tests.
This study adds to the scientific evidence that workers can benefit from naps. Despite this proof, there's still a cultural bias -- i.e., people who nap are lazy -- that prevents widespread implementation of napping programs in U.S. workplaces, Howard said.
