False memories formation after a retention period spent asleep or awake in individuals with insomnia and good sleepers: a polysomnographic study.

False memories are a possible by-product of sleep-related memory consolidation processes when delayed testing is performed after a retention interval spent asleep. To date, the effect of a retention period spent asleep or awake on false memories formation has been addressed only in healthy subjects, while neglecting sleep-disordered populations. In the present study, we investigated this effect in 17 insomniacs and 15 good sleepers through the Deese-Roediger-McDermott paradigm.

Habitual Videogame Playing Does Not Compromise Subjective Sleep Quality and Is Associated with Improved Daytime Functioning.

Research on the effects of videogames (VGs) on health has produced mixed results. Here, we assess the relationships of VG playing with sleep; chronotype; sleepiness; and levels of depression, anxiety, and stress; and how they are modulated by the level of exposure to VGs. Four hundred-and two adult participants (age = 26.

Sleep Continuity, Stability and Cyclic Organization Are Impaired in Insomniacs: A Case-Control Study.

The possibility of distinguishing insomniacs from good sleepers based on polysomnography (PSG) remains an open question. While these groups show modest differences in traditional PSG parameters, some studies suggest that finer measures may be more useful. Here we assess differences between good sleepers (GS), poor sleepers (PS) and insomniacs (IN) in classical PSG measures as well as in sleep continuity, stability and cyclic organization.

Learning Monologues at Bedtime Improves Sleep Quality in Actors and Non-Actors.

Several studies show that pre-sleep learning determines changes in subsequent sleep, including improvements of sleep quality. Our aims were to confirm this finding using a more ecological task (learning a theatrical monologue) and to investigate whether the effect is modulated by expertise. Using a mixed design, we compared polysomnographic recordings of baseline sleep (BL, 9-h TIB) to those of post-training sleep (TR, with the same TIB but preceded by the training session), in one group of actors ( = 11) and one of non-actors ( = 11).

False memories formation is increased in individuals with insomnia.

Previous studies suggest that sleep can influence false memories formation. Specifically, acute sleep loss has been shown to promote false memories production by impairing memory retrieval at subsequent testing. Surprisingly, the relationship between sleep and false memories has only been investigated in healthy subjects but not in individuals with insomnia, whose sleep is objectively impaired compared to healthy subjects.

High sleep fragmentation parallels poor subjective sleep quality during the third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic: An actigraphic study.

Studies on sleep during the Covid-19 pandemic have mostly been conducted during the first wave of contagion (spring 2020). To follow up on two Italian studies addressing subjective sleep features during the second wave (autumn 2020), here we assess sleep during the third wave (spring 2021) in a sample of healthy adults from Campania (Southern Italy). Actigraphic data (on 2 nights) and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index were collected from 82 participants (40 F, mean age: 32.

Dissociated profiles of sleep timing and sleep quality changes across the first and second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Previous work showed a significant impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Italians' sleep both during the first wave, when a total lockdown (TL) was imposed, and during the second wave, when a partial lockdown (PL) was mandated (autumn 2020). Here we complement these data by describing the profile of sleep across four time-points: the first and second lockdown (TL, PL) and the months preceding them (pre-TL, pre-PL). An online survey was completed by 214 participants (M = 36.

The Effects of the COVID19-Related Lockdown Are Modulated by Age: An Italian Study in Toddlers and Pre-Schoolers.

Although the issue has been repeatedly explored, data on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children's sleep quality are inconsistent. To clarify these discrepancies, here we investigate possible age-related differences. During the lockdown, 112 parents of toddlers (0-3 years, N = 61) and pre-schoolers (4-5 years, = 51) completed an online survey including the Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ).

Changes in dream features across the first and second waves of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Research during the Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted its significant impact on dreaming. Here we address changes in dream features both during the first wave, when the Italian government imposed a total lockdown, and the second wave (autumn 2020), when a partial lockdown was effected. In April 2020 (total lockdown), 1,622 participants (M  = 34.

Changes in sleep timing and subjective sleep quality during the COVID-19 lockdown in Italy and Belgium: age, gender and working status as modulating factors.

Italy and Belgium have been among the first western countries to face the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) emergency, imposing a total lockdown over the entire national territories. These limitations have proven effective in slowing down the spread of the infection. However, the benefits obtained in public health have come with huge costs in terms of social, economic, and psychological well-being.

Prevalence and Determinants of Bad Sleep Perception among Italian Children and Adolescents.

Although sleep problems at young ages are well investigated, the prevalence of bad sleepers and the determinants of sleep quality perception remain unexplored in these populations. For this purpose, we addressed these issues in a sample of children ( = 307), preadolescents ( = 717), and adolescents ( = 406) who completed the School Sleep Habits Survey, addressing sleep quality perception, sleep habits, sleep features, daytime behavior and sleep disturbances, circadian preference, and dreaming. The sample was split in "good sleepers" and "bad sleepers", based on the answer to the question item assessing overall subjective sleep quality.

Relationships between Dream and Previous Wake Emotions Assessed through the Italian Modified Differential Emotions Scale.

Despite the increasing interest in sleep and dream-related processes of emotion regulation, their reflection into wake and dream emotional experience remains unclear. Here, we aimed to assess dream emotions and their relationships with wake emotions through the modified Differential Emotions Scale (Fredrickson, 2003), which includes a broad array of both positive and negative emotions. The scale has been first validated on 212 healthy Italian participants, in two versions: a WAKE-2wks form, assessing the frequency of 22 emotions over the past 2 weeks, and a WAKE-24hr form, assessing their intensity over the past 24 h.

Sleep continuity, stability and organization in good and bad sleepers.

The relationship between objective and subjective sleep quality is still debated. Here, we investigate differences in objective sleep parameters in habitual subjective good sleepers and bad sleepers with the aim of evaluating sleep continuity, stability and organization as possible determinants of subjective sleep quality. In total, 38 subjects (good sleepers,  = 18; bad sleepers,  = 20) underwent two nights of sleep recording.

The effect of complex cognitive training on subsequent night sleep.

Using a nap design, we have recently shown that training at a complex cognitive task at bedtime improves objective sleep quality by reducing sleep fragmentation. In order to extend our findings to nighttime sleep, here we assess the impact of a multi-componential cognitive task at bedtime on the subsequent sleep episode of subjects reporting habitual bad sleep, allegedly characterized by high sleep fragmentation. In a within-subjects design, 20 subjective bad sleepers underwent polysomnographic recording in three conditions: (a) baseline sleep (BL); (b) post-training sleep (TR), preceded by a complex ecological task, i.