CONSOLIDATED AND DISTRIBUTED NAP SCHEDULES AND PERFORMANCE

This study compared alertness and psychomotor performance over an exte nded work period in which participants received either a 4-h afternoon nap or four 1-h naps during the night. It was hypothesized that alert ness and performance would be superior during the night following the 4-h afternoon nap and that the overall level of performance would be r elated to the amount of sleep obtained. It was found that when a serie s of 1-h naps was taken during the normal night period, oral temperatu re and psychomotor performance also declined. However, performance was relatively improved on the following evening. In contrast, with an ef fective 4-h prophylactic nap, performance remained near baseline level s across the night. It was concluded that the placement of sleep perio ds during extended work be based on knowledge of when maximal performa nce would be required.