RESET: Regulation of Emotion, Sleep Extension, and mTBI
Merrimack College
Summary
Concussions are incredibly common, and often result in severe and long lasting symptoms, including, but not limited to, sleep deprivation and emotion dysregulation. This study aims to demonstrate the therapeutic benefits of sleep extension (napping) on emotion regulation in individuals after they sustain a concussion. Thus, sleep extension may be a cost-effective, low risk, supplemental treatment for those with emotion dysregulation following a concussion. The main questions it aims to answer are: 1. Is a nap an effective way to improve emotion regulation in individuals with a concussion? 2. Does a nap reduce the required executive resources necessary to regulate emotions in individuals with a concussion?
Description
The specific objective of this proposal is to determine whether sleep extension, in the form of a mid-day nap, improves emotion regulation in those with a mTBI, and to assess whether napping affects top-down neural control of emotion regulation. In order to test this, individuals with a recent (within \~1 month) mTBI (n=60) will complete an emotion regulation task after a nap (1.5 hour nap opportunity) and after a quiet wakefulness session (1.5 hour quiet waking bout). The nap will be recorded using polysomnography (PSG) to assess sleep stages and spectral analysis of sleep physiology. Emotion…
Eligibility
- Age range
- 18–35 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- No
Inclusion Criteria: 1. Between the ages of 18 and 35 years old. 2. Have normal or corrected to normal vision 3. Sustained a FIRST or SECOND concussion within the last 2-3 weeks 4. No sleep disorders 5. Is not a shift worker Exclusion Criteria: 1. Under 18 or over 35 years old. 2. Not have corrected normal vision with glasses or contacts 3. Has an astigmatism in both eyes 4. Had a concussion over 3 weeks ago 5. Has sleep disorder 6. Is a shift worker
Interventions
- BehavioralSleep Extension
A 1.5-hour nap opportunity compared to a neutral 1.5 hour waking activity (e.g., puzzle completion) prior to task. Participants will either nap or not prior to the emotion regulation task. These two conditions will be counter-balanced within gender and participants will complete them 1 week apart. If they are in the nap condition, they will nap for 1.5 hours with PSG in a dark, soundproofed room with optional fan, white noise, or music. If they are in the no nap condition, they will work on puzzles for 1.5 hours in the same room but with the lights on.
Location
- Merrimack CollegeNorth Andover, Massachusetts