Abstract
The relationship between generalized self-efficacy and afternoon napping with or without self-awakening, defined as waking up at a designated time decided before sleep, was investigated in elderly people. It has been reported that a short nap with self-awakening can reduce afternoon sleepiness and sleep inertia. The feeling of self-control over afternoon sleepiness may contribute to maintaining self-efficacy in daily life. In the present study, a questionnaire survey was conducted with 447 elderly people aged over 65 (74.3±5.28). A one-way analysis of variance compared four groups of participants: regular napping, defined as taking a nap at the same time of the day, irregular napping, napping with self-awakening, and napping without self-awakening. The results suggest that regular napping was significantly related to higher self-efficacy, and moreover, that self-awakening also contributed to increasing self-efficacy. These results imply that the habit of regular napping with self-awakening would be a useful tool for promoting successful aging.
