Ricerc@Sapienza

We have entered an era of a steep increase in the absolute and relative number of older
people. This well-come phenomenon represents a major challenge for health care. However, maturational
changes in sleep associated with aging do not easily appear as main factors, even though
sleep alterations in the aging process lead to many detrimental consequences. In this editorial paper,
we summarize the present knowledge about the main aging-related sleep modifications and their

Background: Driving performance is strongly vulnerable to drowsiness and vigilance
fluctuations. Excessive sleepiness may alter concentration, alertness, and reaction times. As people
age, sleep undergoes some changes, becoming fragmented and less deep. However, the effects of
these modifications on daily life have not been sufficiently investigated. Recently, the assessment of
sleepiness became mandatory in Europe for people at risk who need the driving license release.

In Europe, 40% of health-care employees are involved in shift work. The altered sleep/wake rhythm of night-shift nurses is also associated with deteriorated cognitive efficiency. In this study, we examine the effects of the night shift on psychomotor performance, sleepiness, and tiredness in a large sample of shift-working nurses and evaluated if poor sleep quality, sex, age, or years on the job could impact on a better adaptation to shift work.

Purpose: Recent studies demonstrate that 5-Hz bilateral transcranial alternating current stimulation (θ-tACS) on fronto-temporal areas affects resting EEG enhancing cortical synchronization, but it does not affect subjective sleepiness. This dissociation raises questions on the resemblance of this effect to the physiological falling asleep process. The current study aimed to evaluate the ability of fronto-temporal θ-tACS to promote sleep.

Although many studies have detailed the consequences of shift work in nurses concerning health, fatigue, sleepiness, or medical errors, no study has been carried out trying to disentangle the contribution of sleepiness and fatigue associated to shift work from the attentional performance. The aim of this pilot study is (A) to investigate the effects of an 8-h rapidly rotating shift on fatigue and sleepiness among staff nurses and (B) how these factors affect their psychomotor performance.

Previous studies demonstrated that both light intensity and spectral composition of light impact on brain functioning and regulate circadian rhythms. Further, several studies have shown that light exposure, especially blue light (about 460 nm), has positive effects on alertness, vigilance, mood, also increasing mental performance and work productivity. Unfortunately, results have not been always consistent.