EFFECT OF A SINGLE NIGHT OF SLEEP RESTRICTION ON COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE IN YOUNG ADULTS

Abstract

Sleep deprivation is a public health issue that greatly concerns young adults. Through impairments in neurobehavioural functioning, sleep restriction can jeopardise performance in both educational and occupational settings, but more research is necessary to elucidate its specific effects on cognitive performance. In this study, we present data from 65 healthy young adults (43 males, 22 females; aged 21 to 30 years) who participated in a home-based sleep restriction protocol monitored via actigraphy. Following three nights of baseline sleep (9-hours of time in bed [TIB]), participants were randomly assigned to control (9-h TIB) or sleep restriction (5-h TIB) groups and exposed to a single night of sleep manipulation. Computer-based neurobehavioural tests were administered once after the third night of baseline sleep, and once after the sleep manipulation night. Following sleep manipulation, sleep restricted participants exhibited significant deficits in vigilant attention on the Psychomotor Vigilance Task (PVT), and increased subjective sleepiness on the Karolinska Sleepiness Scale (KSS). No impairment was observed on the Digit Symbol Substitution Test (DSST). These results suggest that one night of acute sleep restriction may be sufficient to impair sustained vigilance among young adults, thus leading to adverse implications on workplace safety and productivity.