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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Sleep Sci 2018; 11(03): 152-159
DOI: 10.5935/1984-0063.20180029
ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Executive functioning is preserved in healthy young adults under acute sleep restriction

Thais Schaedler
1   Federal University of Paraná, Department of Physiology - Curitiba - Paraná - Brasil.
,
Jefferson Souza Santos
1   Federal University of Paraná, Department of Physiology - Curitiba - Paraná - Brasil.
,
Roberta Almeida Vincenzi
1   Federal University of Paraná, Department of Physiology - Curitiba - Paraná - Brasil.
,
Sofia Isabel Ribeiro Pereira
1   Federal University of Paraná, Department of Physiology - Curitiba - Paraná - Brasil.
,
Fernando Mazzilli Louzada
1   Federal University of Paraná, Department of Physiology - Curitiba - Paraná - Brasil.
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Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate if a partial morning or evening sleep restriction protocol could affect executive functioning in healthy young adults.

Methods: Participants were assigned to one of three groups: control (n=18), in which participants maintained their habitual sleep/wake cycle; morning restriction (n=17), in which volunteers terminated sleep approximately three hours earlier than the usual on the experimental night, and evening restriction (n=13), in which volunteers initiated sleep approximately three hours later than the usual on the experimental night. On the day of the experiment, they performed the Stroop Test, the Go-NoGo Test and the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT).

Results: When compared to the control group, neither morning nor evening sleep-restricted individuals displayed any significant deficits in: a) selective attention as assessed by the interference index (H=3.38;p=0.18) and time to performed the interference card (H=2.61; p=0.27) on the Stroop test; b) motor response inhibition as assessed by number of false alarms (H=0.8;p=0.67) on the Go-NoGo Test; and c) in decision-making as assessed by total won (H=2.64; p=0.26) and number of selected advantageous cards (H=4.43; p=0.11) on the IGT.

Conclusion: These findings suggest that the ability to pay attention, inhibit a motor response and make decisions is preserved following approximately 3 hours of sleep restriction, regardless of its timing (in the morning or in the evening).

Executive Functions - Impulsive Behavior - Sleep Deprivation - REM sleep


Publication History

Received: 22 February 2018

Accepted: 07 June 2018

Article published online:
13 October 2023

© 2023. Brazilian Sleep Association. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

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