It is to the highest degree probable that the subjectl's] . . . general attitude of mind is that of ready complacency and cheerful willingness to assist the investigator in every possible way by reporting to him those very things which he is most eager to find, and that the very questions of the experimenter . . . suggest the shade of reply expected .... Indeed . . . it seems too often as if the subject were now regarded as a stupid automaton ....

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The hypothesis that sleep deprivation depresses immune function was tested in 20 adults, selected on the basis of their normal blood chemistry, monitored in a laboratory for 7 d, and kept awake for 64 h. At 2200 h each day measurements were taken of total leukocytes (WBC), monocytes, granulocytes, lymphocytes, eosinophils, erythrocytes (RBC), B and T lymphocyte subsets, activated T cells, and natural killer (NK) subpopulations (CD56/CD8 dual-positive cells, CD16-positive cells, CD57-positive cells). Functional tests included NK cytotoxicity, lymphocyte stimulation with mitogens, and DNA analysis of cell cycle. Sleep loss was associated with leukocytosis and increased NK cell activity. At the maximum sleep deprivation, increases were observed in counts of WBC, granulocytes, monocytes, NK activity, and the proportion of lymphocytes in the S phase ofthe cell cycle. Changes in monocyte counts correlated with changes in other immune parameters. Counts of CD4, CD16, CD56, and CD57 lymphocytes declined after one night without sleep, whereas CD56 and CD57 counts increased after two nights. No changes were observed in other lymphocyte counts, in proliferative responses to mitogens, or in plasma levels of cortisol or adrenocorticotropin hormone. The physiologic leukocytosis and NK activity increases during deprivation were eliminated by recovery sleep in a manner parallel to neurobehavioral function, suggesting that the immune alterations may be associated with biological pressure for sleep. (J. Clin.

Quasi-continuous work settings often involve sleep loss and requirements to perform at unpredictable times. Napping may alleviate some of the sleep-loss problems, but it increases the risk that the person will have difficulty functioning upon abrupt awakening. This paper describes an experimental approach, techniques, and analyses for investigating performance upon abrupt awakening from 2-h naps placed near either the circadian peak (P) or trough (T) in body temperature and preceded by 6, 18, 30, 42, or 54 h of sleep deprivation. Five groups of healthy young adults performed quasi-continuously for 54 h and were permitted a 2-h nap at one of five times. Reaction time (RT) to answer a phone terminating the nap, subjective estimates, and performance of a brief, challenging cognitive task were related to nap-sleep parameters of each group. Sleep deprivation increased the amount of deep sleep in the naps, and this was associated with greater postnap cognitive performance decrements; subjective estimates were unaffected, and RT performance was related simply to stage of sleep prior to awakening. Circadian placement of the naps also modulated the postnap cognitive decrement: T naps produced greater cognitive decrements than P naps, even when the latter involved more prior sleep loss. These findings have both practical and theoretical significance for evaluating the awakening process, and would not have been possible without the approach, techniques, and procedures described.There is a fundamental dilemma faced in planning sleep logistics for quasi-continuous work situations, such as those often encountered in the military. The person may have to perform at full capacity, at a moment's notice, at unpredictable times, over a period of many days, weeks, or months. If the individual is kept awake throughout the period, the inevitable effects of sleep deprivation take their toll, performance deteriorates, and involuntary sleep onsets become commonplace. If, on the other hand, the person sleeps, performance upon abrupt awakening from sleep may be severely compromised.Paradoxically, people actually function less well immediately upon awakening from sleep than they do prior to going to sleep (Kleitman, 1963), although the detrimental effect does not usually last beyond 15 to 30 min after subjects awaken. Decreased performance upon sudden awakening from sleep has been shown to occur for a broad range of tasks, including simple reaction time (RT) (Dinges, Orne, Evans, & Orne, 1981;Okuma, Nakamura, Hayashi, & Fujimori, 1966 Gillberg, 1979;Bonnet, 1983;Grosvenor & Lack, 1984;Stones, 1977), time estimates (Carlson, Feinberg, & Goodenough, 1978), complex-behavior simulation tasks Hartman, Langdon, & McKenzie, 1965;Langdon & Hartman, 1961;Seminara & Shavelson, 1969), and a number of cognitive tasks, such as mental arithmetic, cancellation, and clock reversal (Dinges et al., 1981;Fort & Mills, 1972; Pritchett, 1964 Pritchett, /1969Scott, 1969;Tebbs, 1972; Wilkinson & Stretton, 1971).Not only is the immediate postsleep performance dec...

Some children and adolescents with sickle cell disease experience frequent painful episodes. To gain information about the natural history of the pain and its impact on sleep and school attendance, we developed a home-based diary system. Eighteen children and adolescents completed 4756 diary days, with an average compliance of 75%. Pain was reported on 30% of days and was managed at home nine-tenths of the time. Girls reported more days with pain than did boys, and age was positively correlated with the length of the painful episodes. The pain affected school attendance and sleep. Patients were absent from school on 21% of 3186 school days, with half of the absenteeisms on days with reported pain. Of the pain-associated absenteeisms, two-thirds occurred when pain was managed at home, and one-third when patients were hospitalized. The average consecutive number of school days missed was 2.7. These findings have implications for developmentally critical activities.

It is to the highest degree probable that the subject['s] . . . general attitude of mind is that of ready complacency and cheerful willingness to assist the investigator in every possible way by reporting to him those very things which he is most eager to find, and that the very questions of the experimenter . . . suggest the shade of reply expected .... Indeed . . . it seems too often as if the subject were now regarded as a stupid automaton -A. H. Pierce, 1908 This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.This article is intended solely solely for the personal personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly. broadly.

Here, the assumption is that many subjects who volunteer for research participation have a tendency to play the role of the “good subject” (an ironic term) who is both highly sensitive and responsive to inadvertent task-orienting cues (demand characteristics). Quasi-control procedures can be used to identify sources of artifacts, and there is a discussion of how drug (pharmacological) research might serve as a model for the psychological experiment.