Back Rest Angle Influence on Nap Quality and Comfort

Abstract

The sleep quality and (dis)comfort sitting upright was studied among 40 participants who took a nap at home. They were asked to take a nap at 17:00h on three consecutive days. The backrest had to be at a different angle every day: upright, reclined and more reclined. They were asked to record the backrest angle of the three positions and report the length of the sleep, the sleep quality, comfort and discomfort and influence of other factors each during each nap. From the 120 cases (3 conditions, 40 participants), the cases where participants were not able to sleep had an average backrest angle of 110°, which was significantly different from the cases where participants were able to sleep, who had an average backrest angle of 118°. The scores in the more upright position (<110°) resulted in significantly more discomfort and a lower sleep quality than in the reclined positions (>123°). As the conditions were arranged by the participants, there was much variation in outcomes. Therefore, future research under more standardised conditions is recommended.