0166 Effects of Evening Pre-Sleep Alcohol on Next-Day Psychomotor Vigilance (PVT) Performance

Abstract

Abstract Introduction Few reports have examined how pre-sleep alcohol affects performance on the next day given adequate sleep opportunity on a preferred schedule. Our goal is to identify whether alcohol intake targeting .08g% 1 hr before sleep of ~8 h will affect PVT performance on subsequent days, with the hypothesis that morning performance will be negatively affected. Methods 25 adults (13F; age range 22-57 y) completed the full study, including at-home sleep on a fixed schedule of 8-9 hr and two 3-night in-lab PSG sessions spaced ≥3 days apart. Sessions were counterbalanced for alcoholic or nonalcoholic control beverage administered in 3 drinks over 45 minutes ending 1 hr before bedtime. Alcohol was targeted to .08g%. The 10-min PVT (Ambulatory Monitoring, Inc.) was given each night (PM-Lab) 1.5 hr before drinking and in the morning after a light breakfast (AM-Lab) 50 min after waking. PVT was performed at home/work twice each day within 1.5-h windows starting 3h after waking (AM-Home) and 7.5h after waking (PM-Home). Two reaction time (RT) variables were assessed: RRT (1/RT), FRT (10% fastest RT). Linear mixed effects models were used to account for nesting of assessments within alcohol/control condition and days. Results RRTs showed slowed RT (meanRT±SE) following alcohol: AM-Lab F=7.234, p=.008, alcohol RT=246±9.6 msec, control RT=234±9.6 msec; AM-Home F=17.936, p<.001, alcohol RT=254±9.5 msec, control RT=242±9.6 msec; but not PM-Home or PM-Lab tests. FRT slowed for AM-Lab F=9.391, p=.003, alcohol FRT=195±4.3 msec, control FRT=201±4.3 msec; AM-Home F=17.251, p=.001, alcohol FRT= 202±4.4 msec, control FRT=194±4.4 msec; PM-Home F=3.379, p=.068 (trend), alcohol FR=200±4.8 msec, control FRT=196±4.8 msec, but not for PM-Lab PVTs. PM-Home FRT also had a significant day order effect: F=3.087, p=.0496, Day 1 FRT=197±5.0 msec, Day 2 FRT=202±5.0 msec, Day 3 FRT=195±5.0 msec. Conclusion We found statistically significant slowing of psychomotor vigilance RT on days after pre-sleep alcohol lasting up to 3-4.5h after waking in the morning (with a trend up to 7.5-9h post waking). PVT lapses (not shown) were similarly affected by alcohol. Thus, even with sufficient sleep opportunity, RT is impaired following 3 consecutive nights of alcohol drinking. Support (if any) R01AA025593