Citation

Schaedler T, Santos JS, Vincenzi RA, Pereira SIR, Louzada FM. Sleep Sci. 2018; 11(3): 152-159.

Affiliation

Federal University of Paraná, Department of Physiology - Curitiba - Paraná - Brasil.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, Brazilian Association of Sleep, Publisher Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.5935/1984-0063.20180029

PMID

30455847

PMCID

PMC6201523

Abstract

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).

Language: en

Keywords

Executive Functions; Impulsive Behavior; REM sleep; Sleep Deprivation