Relationships among daytime napping and fatigue, sleep quality, and quality of life in cancer patients

Background: The relationships among napping and sleep quality, fatigue, and quality of life (QOL) in cancer patients are not clearly understood. Objective: The aim of the study was to determine whether daytime napping is associated with nighttime sleep, fatigue, and QOL in cancer patients. Methods: In total, 187 cancer patients were recruited. Daytime napping, nighttime self-reported sleep, fatigue, and QOL were assessed using a questionnaire. Objective sleep parameters were collected using a wrist actigraph. Results: According to waking-after-sleep-onset measurements, patients who napped during the day experienced poorer nighttime sleep than did patients who did not (t = -2.44, P =.02). Daytime napping duration was significantly negatively correlated with QOL. Patients who napped after 4 PM had poorer sleep quality (t = -1.93, P =.05) and a poorer Short-Form Health Survey mental component score (t = 2.06, P =.04) than did patients who did not. Fatigue, daytime napping duration, and sleep quality were significant predictors of the mental component score and physical component score, accounting for 45.7% and 39.3% of the variance, respectively. Conclusions: Daytime napping duration was negatively associated with QOL. Napping should be avoided after 4 PM. Implications for Practice: Daytime napping affects the QOL of cancer patients. Future research can determine the role of napping in the sleep hygiene of cancer patients.