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. 2022 Feb 7;12(2):229.
doi: 10.3390/brainsci12020229.

Strategies to Limit Cognitive Impairments under Sleep Restriction: Relationship to Stress Biomarkers

Danielle Gomez-Merino  1   2 , Catherine Drogou  1   2 , Eden Debellemaniere  1   2   3 , Mégane Erblang  1   2 , Rodolphe Dorey  1   2 , Mathias Guillard  1   2 , Pascal Van Beers  1   2 , Melanie Thouard  4 , Robin Masson  4 , Fabien Sauvet  1   2 , Damien Leger  2   5 , Clément Bougard  1   2 , Pierrick J Arnal  3 , Arnaud Rabat  1   2 , Mounir Chennaoui  1   2
Affiliations

Strategies to Limit Cognitive Impairments under Sleep Restriction: Relationship to Stress Biomarkers

Danielle Gomez-Merino et al. Brain Sci. .

Abstract

Adding relaxation techniques during nap or auditory stimulation of EEG slow oscillation (SO) during nighttime sleep may limit cognitive impairments in sleep-deprived subjects, potentially through alleviating stress-releasing effects. We compared daytime sleepiness, cognitive performances, and salivary stress biomarker responses in 11 volunteers (aged 18-36) who underwent 5 days of sleep restriction (SR, 3 h per night, with 30 min of daily nap) under three successive conditions: control (SR-CT), relaxation techniques added to daily nap (SR-RT), and auditory stimulation of sleep slow oscillations (SO) during nighttime sleep (SR-NS). Test evaluation was performed at baseline (BASE), the fifth day of chronic SR (SR5), and the third and fifth days after sleep recovery (REC3, REC5, respectively). At SR5, less degradation was observed for percentage of commission errors in the executive Go-noGo inhibition task in SR-RT condition compared to SR-CT, and for sleepiness score in SR-NS condition compared both to SR-CT and SR-RT. Beneficial effects of SR-RT and SR-NS were additionally observed on these two parameters and on salivary α-amylase (sAA) at REC3 and REC5. Adding relaxation techniques to naps may help performance in inhibition response, and adding nocturnal auditory stimulation of SO sleep may benefit daytime sleepiness during sleep restriction with persistent effects during recovery. The two strategies activated the autonomic nervous system, as shown by the sAA response.

Keywords: auditory EEG slow oscillation; cognition; recovery; relaxation technique; sleep-deprived; stress biomarkers.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The three sessions of in-laboratory protocol of 5 days of sleep restriction with 30 min of early afternoon nap (SR): the control session (SR-CT) (A), the session with relaxation techniques added to SR (SR-RT) (B), and the session with auditory SO stimulation added during nighttime sleep (SR-NS) (C). Each session included a baseline (BASE) day with 8 h time-in-bed (TIB), 5 days of chronic sleep restriction (SR, with 3 h TIB with 30 min nap), followed by 5 days of sleep recovery (REC) with 8 h TIB.
Figure 1
Figure 1
The three sessions of in-laboratory protocol of 5 days of sleep restriction with 30 min of early afternoon nap (SR): the control session (SR-CT) (A), the session with relaxation techniques added to SR (SR-RT) (B), and the session with auditory SO stimulation added during nighttime sleep (SR-NS) (C). Each session included a baseline (BASE) day with 8 h time-in-bed (TIB), 5 days of chronic sleep restriction (SR, with 3 h TIB with 30 min nap), followed by 5 days of sleep recovery (REC) with 8 h TIB.
Figure 2
Figure 2
(A) Morning KSS scores. (B) Number of PVT lapses. (C) PVT speed. All are normalized as compared to the baseline day (BASE) and averaged across participants in the control (SR-CT—blue), relaxation techniques (SR-RT—green), and night stimulation of EEG slow oscillations (SR-NS—red) conditions.
Figure 3
Figure 3
(A) Percentage of Go–noGo commission errors. (B) Go–noGo reaction time. (C) Percentage of 2-back correct responses. All are normalized as compared to the baseline day (BASE) and averaged across participants in the control (SR-CT—blue), relaxation techniques (SR-RT—green), and night stimulation of EEG slow oscillations (SR-NS—red) conditions.
Figure 3
Figure 3
(A) Percentage of Go–noGo commission errors. (B) Go–noGo reaction time. (C) Percentage of 2-back correct responses. All are normalized as compared to the baseline day (BASE) and averaged across participants in the control (SR-CT—blue), relaxation techniques (SR-RT—green), and night stimulation of EEG slow oscillations (SR-NS—red) conditions.
Figure 4
Figure 4
(A) Morning salivary concentrations of cortisol. (B) α-amylase (sAA). (C) Chromogranin-A (CgA). All are normalized as compared to the baseline day (BASE) and averaged across participants in the control (SR-CT—blue), relaxation techniques (SR-RT—green), and night stimulation of EEG slow oscillations (SR-NS—red) conditions. * indicates a statistical significant difference as compared to the baseline (BASE); (a) indicates a statistical significant difference between SR-RT and SR-CT conditions, (b) between SR-NS and SR-CT, (c) between SR-RT and SR-NS.
Figure 4
Figure 4
(A) Morning salivary concentrations of cortisol. (B) α-amylase (sAA). (C) Chromogranin-A (CgA). All are normalized as compared to the baseline day (BASE) and averaged across participants in the control (SR-CT—blue), relaxation techniques (SR-RT—green), and night stimulation of EEG slow oscillations (SR-NS—red) conditions. * indicates a statistical significant difference as compared to the baseline (BASE); (a) indicates a statistical significant difference between SR-RT and SR-CT conditions, (b) between SR-NS and SR-CT, (c) between SR-RT and SR-NS.
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