Integrating nap and night‐time sleep into sleep patterns reveals differential links to health‐relevant outcomes
Abstract
Summary: Both night‐time sleep and nap behaviour have been linked consistently to health outcomes. Although reasons for napping are usually tied to night‐time sleep, the majority of studies assess their effects independently. The current study thus aimed to examine the health relevance of patterns of sleep behaviour that take into account both night‐time and daytime sleep habits. Night‐time sleep, recorded during 7 days via actigraphy from 313 participants (aged 34–82 years) of the Midlife in the United States II Biomarker study, was assessed. Blood and urine specimens were assayed for noradrenaline, interleukin‐6 and C‐reactive protein. Participants self‐reported nap behaviour, depressive symptoms, perceived chronic stress and the presence of medical symptoms and conditions. Overall, nappers ( n = 208) showed elevated waist–hip ratios, C‐reactive protein and interleukin‐6 levels compared to non‐nappers and reported more physiological symptoms and conditions (all P ≤ 0.019). Within nappers, cluster analysis revealed three patterns of sleep behaviour—infrequent nappers with good night‐time sleep, frequent nappers with good night‐time sleep and nappers with poor night‐time sleep. Nappers with poor night‐time sleep thereby exhibited elevated noradrenaline levels, depressive symptoms and perceived stress scores compared to other groups (all P ≤ 0.041). These findings support the idea that nap–health relationships are complex, in that frequency of napping and accumulation of nap sleep is not related linearly to health consequences. Assessing nap behaviour in conjunction with night‐time sleep behaviour appeared crucial to elucidate further the health relevance of napping, particularly in terms of psychological health outcomes, including chronic stress and depressive symptoms.
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Sleep might support the migration of lymphocytes, thus supporting the formation of immunological memory.
“sleep might rather support the migration of lymphocytes, thus supporting the formation of immunological memory.”
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Sleep reduces the number of APCs and T cells in the blood, probably by redistributing these cells to lymph nodes.
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In the periphery, recumbency and sleep-associated changes in the vasculature could affect the draining of proteins from tissues and organs by the lymphatic system.
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From The Sleep-Immune Crosstalk in Health and Disease (2019) · cites this paper as [143]
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- Authors
- Devine, J. K., & Wolf, J. M.
- Affiliations
- Brandeis University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Wolf, Jutta M.
- ORCID
- Devine, Jaime K.
- Venue
- Journal of Sleep Research
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2015-12-31
- Volume
- 25
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 225-233
- ISSN
- 0962-1105 (ISSN-L)
- 1365-2869
- OpenAlex
- W2203221488
- Cited by
- 36
- References
- 39
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 8 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 1 · 2017: 3
- FWCI
- 2.01
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Sleep Research (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Science Foundation (054939)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Sleep and related disorders
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Sleep and Wakefulness Research
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Sleep and Work-Related Fatigue
- Keywords
- napping, nocturnal sleep, sleep patterns, sleep behaviour, norepinephrine, interleukin-6, C-reactive protein, inflammatory markers, depressive symptoms, waist-to-hip ratio, middle-aged adults, actigraphy, health outcomes
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, C-Reactive Protein, Depression, Female, Habits, Health Status, Humans, Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders, Male, Middle Aged, Norepinephrine, Sleep, Stress, Psychological, United States, Interleukin-6, Cluster Analysis, Waist-Hip Ratio, Actigraphy, Self Report
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