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bioRxiv · 10.1101/2023.09.09.556942

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

Yavuz, E.·Lazar, A. S.·Gahnstrom, C. J.·Goodroe, S.·Coutrot, A.·Hornberger, M.·Spiers, H. J.
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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 = 737, 409 men, 328 women, mean age = 27.1 years, range = 18-59 years). A multivariate linear regression was used to identify which self-reported sleep variables were independently associated with wayfinding performance. For men, longer self-reported sleep durations were associated with better wayfinding performance. For women, no such association was found. While other self-reported sleep variables showed trends of association with wayfinding performance, none of these were significantly associated with wayfinding performance in our regression model. These findings from younger 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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Yavuz, E., Lazar, A. S., Gahnstrom, C. J., Goodroe, S., Coutrot, A., Hornberger, M., Spiers, H. J.. 2023-09-09. Shorter reported sleep duration in men is associated with worse virtual spatial navigation performance. https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.09.09.556942

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