The effects of the preference for music on sleep inertia after a short daytime nap

Abstract

The effects of the preference for excitative music on sleep inertia after a daytime nap were examined. Sixteen young healthy adults took a 20-min nap at 14:00 after which half were exposed to excitative high- or low-preference music and half were not. Musical stimuli were applied for 20 min after napping, and the subjects rated their sleepiness and comfort by themselves and performed a selective reaction time task. The results showed that subjective sleepiness was reduced under both music conditions immediately after awakening. However, sleepiness was further reduced and results of successive performance improved when the participants were exposed to high-preference music. Subjective comfort also improved under the high-preference condition. These results suggest that excitative music, regardless of preference for the type, exhibits positive effects on sleep inertia, and that higher preference music further stimulates the daytime arousal level.