Shorter self-reported sleep duration is associated with worse virtual spatial navigation performance in men

Yavuz, Emre, Gahnstrom, Christoffer J, Goodroe, Sarah, Coutrot, Antoine, Hornberger, Michael, Lazar, Alpar S and Spiers, Hugo J (2024) Shorter self-reported sleep duration is associated with worse virtual spatial navigation performance in men. Scientific Reports, 14 (1), 4093. (doi:10.1038/s41598-024-52662-8).

Abstract

Sleep has been shown to impact navigation ability. However, it remains unclear how different sleep-related variables may be independently associated with spatial navigation performance, and as to whether gender may play a role in these associations. We used a mobile video game app, Sea Hero Quest (SHQ), to measure wayfinding ability in US-based participants. Wayfinding performance on SHQ has been shown to correlate with real-world wayfinding. Participants were asked to report their sleep duration, quality, daytime sleepiness and nap frequency and duration on a typical night (n = 766, 335 men, 431 women, mean age = 26.5 years, range = 18-59 years). A multiple linear regression was used to identify which self-reported sleep variables were independently associated with wayfinding performance. Shorter self-reported sleep durations were significantly associated with worse wayfinding performance in men only. Other self-reported sleep variables showed non-significant trends of association with wayfinding performance. When removing non-typical sleepers (< 6 or > 9 h of sleep on a typical night), the significant association between sleep duration and spatial navigation performance in men was no longer present. These findings from U.S.-based participants suggest that a longer self-reported sleep duration may be an important contributor to successful navigation ability in men.

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Contributors

Author: Michael Hornberger

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