Year-end Sale % OFF 
Abstract
Sleep disturbances are an important risk factor for stress-related diseases such as burnout or depression. In particular, slow-wave activity (SWA) during sleep might be eminently relevant for optimal maintenance of mental health and cognitive functioning. In spite of the clinical importance and the pertinence of stress-related processes in everyday life, the physiological mechanisms of the association between stress, sleep, and cognition are not well-understood. In the present study, we carefully mapped the time course of the influence of a psychosocial stressor on sleep architecture and sleep-related oscillations during a midday nap. We induced stress using a psychosocial laboratory stressor, the Montreal Imaging Stress Task, vs. a neutral control task. Afterward, participants were allowed to take a 90-min nap (n = 20) or stayed awake (n = 19) and cortisol was measured via saliva samples. We hypothesized that stress would decrease sleep efficiency and SWA in a time-dependent manner, with impairing effects on cognitive functioning. Psychosocial stress resulted in increased cortisol levels, which were elevated throughout the study interval. In the nap group, psychosocial stress increased sleep latency, but had only minor effects on sleep architecture. Still, SWA in the first 30 min of sleep was significantly reduced, whereas alpha activity was enhanced. These effects vanished after approximately 30 min. No impairing effect on cognitive functioning occurred. Our results show that psychosocial stress before sleep has an impact on sleep latency and early SWA during sleep. In contrast to our hypothesis, the effects were rather small and short-lasting. Importantly, cognitive functioning was maintained. We conclude that the effects of psychosocial stress before a nap are possibly better compensated than previously believed.
Highlights
We investigated, whether stress induction using a psychosocial stressor is associated with worse sleep quality during a nap and higher cortisol levels and whether these effects are time-dependent
Stress induction lead to a significant increase in cortisol levels which was present almost throughout the entire experiment
These results may indicate that stress effects on sleep oscillations are not as long lasting as stressinduced cortisol elevations as measured in the wake group
Summary
Sleep is critical for our mental health and well-being, and sleep disturbances are an important risk factor for stress-related syndromes such as burnout or depression (Hall et al, 2000; Söderström et al, 2004, 2012; Ekstedt et al, 2006, 2009; Sonnenschein et al, 2007; Armon et al, 2008; Willert et al, 2010). Four studies in humans focusing on acute stress and the association of HPA axis reactivity and sleep reported associations between subjective sleep measures and the cortisol response to a physiological (Goodin et al, 2012) or a psychosocial stressor (Räikkönen et al, 2010; Pesonen et al, 2012; Bassett et al, 2015). Administration of fludrocortisone before sleep or infusion of hydrocortisone during night sleep did not alter sleep architecture, except for a reduction of REM sleep after the infusion of hydrocortisone (Groch et al, 2013) It is questionable if cortisol release after stress induction can explain the effects of stress on sleep. We hypothesize that a higher stress-level, going along with an increase in cortisol levels, is associated with worse sleep efficiency and lower SWA, leading to an impaired performance in cognitive tests
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
