North Andover

Researchers are studying individuals aged 18 to 35 who have recently experienced a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), commonly known as a concussion. The study aims to explore whether extending sleep through a mid-day nap can improve emotion regulation and reduce the effort needed to control emotions after a concussion. This research focuses on understanding the neurological impact of napping and how it might benefit emotional symptoms that often follow a concussion. Participants will take part in two sessions one week apart, where they will either have a 1.5-hour nap opportunity or engage in quiet wakefulness activities like puzzle completion. The nap will occur in a dark, soundproof room with options for fan, white noise, or music, and will be monitored using polysomnography to record sleep stages. The order of napping and no-nap conditions will be balanced across participants by gender. During these sessions, participants will complete an emotion regulation task involving cognitive reappraisal of negative images while various behavioral and neurophysiological measures are recorded. Throughout the study, participants will wear a sleep profiler headband and a wrist actigraph to monitor sleep patterns before and after lab sessions, and complete sleep diaries and questionnaires about sleep habits and concussion symptoms. Researchers will assess emotion regulation through self-reports, behavioral tasks, pupillometry, eye movement tracking, and brain activity (ERP). The study lasts about nine days, including monitoring and assessments, to evaluate the effects of napping on emotional control and sleep physiology after concussion.