The protective effect of daytime sleep on planning and risk-related decision-making in emerging adults

We assessed the effect of a daytime sleep opportunity on planning and risk-related decision-making in emerging adults using multiple neurobehavioral assessments. A total of 136 healthy emerging adults (20.0 ± 1.5 years), 65% female, performed the Risky-Gains Task and the Tower of London test twice. Between these assessments, they were randomized to either have a sleep opportunity monitored by polysomnography (Sleep group, n = 101) or to stay awake (Wake group, n = 35). During Test 2, in comparison to the Sleep group, the Wake group showed increased sleepiness, worse planning ability and more decrease in reaction times when selecting risky choices. Changes in Tower of London test steps used and Risky-Gains Task response time correlated with the number of central and frontal fast sleep spindles, respectively. These results indicate that among emerging adults who commonly have poor sleep patterns, a daytime sleep opportunity was related to better planning ability, better psychomotor vigilance and stable response speeds in risk-related decision-making. Changes in planning and risk-related decision-making correlated with the number of sleep spindles during the nap, supporting a specific role for sleep in modulating planning and potentially other higher-order cognitive functions.