Research Article: Napping improves interhemispheric functional coordination during night shifts in nurses: analysis of voxel-mirrored homotopic connectivity
Abstract:
Napping has been shown to improve cognitive performance in nurses working night shifts; however, the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. This study aims to investigate the effects of night shift napping on interhemispheric functional coordination and examine their relationship with cognitive changes in nurses.
A total of 21 female nurses participated in three sessions: Rested Wakefulness (RW), Sleep Deprivation (SD), and Napping (NAP). During the RW session, participants were allowed normal sleep; during SD, they remained awake for 24?h; and in the NAP session, a two-hour nap was allowed during their night shift. Neurocognitive assessments and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging were conducted after SD and NAP sessions. Voxel-mirrored homotopic connectivity (VMHC) analysis was used to assess interhemispheric functional coordination.
Compared with RW, SD led to a significant increase in VMHC, primarily involving the bilateral temporal, occipital, and parietal cortices, sensorimotor areas, middle and inferior frontal cortices, insula, subcortical regions, and cerebellum [family-wise error (FWE)-corrected p <?0.05]. In contrast to SD, NAP resulted in a reduction of VMHC in a broad range of brain regions that exhibited increased VMHC during SD (FWE-corrected p <?0.05). The alterations in global VMHC after NAP were correlated with improved neurocognitive performance among the nurses ( p <?0.05).
Night shift napping appears to reorganize interhemispheric functional connections, which tentatively underpins its potential role in cognitive recovery from SD among nurses, with such neural-cognitive links necessitating further validation in expanded sample cohorts.
Introduction:
Shift work is essential for hospital nurses to ensure continuous patient care. However, prolonged night shifts can disrupt the circadian rhythm and exacerbate sleep deprivation (SD) ( 1 ). Research has demonstrated that SD from night shifts is associated with negative health outcomes, including metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease ( 2 ). Night-shift nurses perform worse on visual attention tests than day-shift nurses ( 3 ). Additionally, fatigue and cognitive impairment resulting from SD may lead to…
Read more