Cognition and Alertness in Medical Students: Effects of a Single Night of Partial Sleep Deprivation

Abstract

Background: Partial sleep deprivation is common among young adults today. Though multiple studies have stressed on the benefits of having a good sleep, medical students often compromise their sleep due to academic targets and stress. This can lead to changes in attention and cognition. The effects of acute partial sleep deprivation of a single night have been studied less and studies in the past in Indian context have shown controversial results that reaction time is decreased following acute partial sleep deprivation. Purpose: The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effects of a single night of partial sleep deprivation on the cognitive status and alertness of medical students in the Indian context and to find out the change in auditory event-related potential (AERP) and psychomotor vigilance of medical students following a single night of partial sleep deprivation. Methods: The study was a before–after experimental trial conducted among 20 medical student volunteers of a tertiary care hospital of eastern India. Baseline psychomotor vigilance task measured by unprepared serial reaction time, and AERP measured by P300, were assessed at baseline (after normal sleep) and after four hours of sleep deprivation (intervention). Results: It was seen that median RT had increased from 320.4 ms to 337.6 ms after acute partial sleep deprivation ( P < .001). P300 and lapses ( P < .05) were also found to increase significantly ( P < .05), while there was significant decrease in correctness ( P < .01). Conclusion: The study concluded that cognition is affected, including alertness and latency, following partial sleep deprivation even for a single night and contradicted earlier results of Indian studies stating variable effect on psychomotor vigilance.

Assessing the impact of sleep restriction on the attention and executive functions of medical students: a prospective cohort study

“…A Dutch study assessed the attention span of university students with a questionnaire on the ability to concentrate while studying and observed a positive correlation between chronic sleep loss and the ability to concentrate [ 36 ]. Mishra et al analyzed the attention span with the same tool as the present study and observed a reduced reaction time after a single night of sleep restriction [ 37 ]. Pérez-Olmos and Ibáñez-Pinilla compared students on the day immediately following night shifts with students who did not work.…”

Planning Ability and Alertness After Nap Deprivation: Beneficial Effects of Acute Moderate-Intensity Aerobic Exercise Greater Than Sitting Naps

“…There were also some negative effects of nap deprivation on the planning ability. As previously mentioned, planning ability is controlled by the PFC, a brain region particularly vulnerable to sleep deprivation ( 5 , 45 ). However, data have been inconsistent, with some studies demonstrating that executive function is affected by sleep loss and others reporting conflicting results ( 46 , 47 ).…”

“…Normal social interactions and occupational activities commonly involve the prefrontal cortex (PFC). Importantly, the integrity of the PFC ( 4 ), which may be vulnerable to sleep loss, is vital for planning ability in all aspects of life ( 5 ). Reduced task-related activation in the PFC, which results in impairments in attention and visual networking, is assumed to be the cause of the deleterious effects of sleep loss on executive function ( 6 ).…”

Electrophysiological Mechanism of Attention of Sleep Deprivation: Evidence From Event-Related Potentials (ERP) Data

“…Partial sleep deprivation may also affect attention. Mishra et al found that partial sleep deprivation had the similar impact on cognition and psychomotor vigilance [ 13 ]. Peszka and Harsh explored the effect of sleep deprivation on event-related potentials (ERP) in non-rapid eye movement sleep (NREM) period, and found that the ERP amplitude in NREM period increased with the increase of sound stimulation intensity and sleepiness degree.…”