Abstract
Chronic sleep restriction (SR) increases sleepiness, negatively impacts mood, and impairs a variety of cognitive performance measures. The vast majority of work establishing these effects are tightly controlled in-lab experimental studies. Examining commonly-experienced levels of SR in naturalistic settings is more difficult and generally involves observational methods, rather than active manipulations of sleep. The same is true for analyzing behavioral and cognitive outcomes at circadian unfavorable times. The current study tested the ability of an at-home protocol to manipulate sleep schedules (i.e., impose SR), as well as create a mismatch between a subject’s circadian preference and time of testing. Viability of the protocol was assessed via completion, compliance with the SR, and success at manipulating sleepiness and mood. An online survey was completed by 3630 individuals to assess initial eligibility, 256 agreed via email response to participate in the 3-week study, 221 showed for the initial in-person session, and 184 completed the protocol (175 with complete data). The protocol consisted of 1 week at-home SR (5-6 hours in bed/night), 1 week wash-out, and 1 week well-rested (WR: 8-9 hours in bed/night). Sleep was monitored with actigraphy, diary, and call-ins. Risk management strategies were implemented for subject safety. At the end of each experimental week, subjects reported sleepiness and mood ratings. Protocol completion was 83%, with lower depression scores, higher anxiety scores, and morning session assignment predicting completion. Compliance with the sleep schedule was also very good. Subjects spent approximately 2 hours less time in bed/night and obtained an average of 1.5 hours less nightly sleep during SR, relative to WR, with 82% of subjects obtaining at least 60 minutes less average nightly sleep. Sleepiness and mood were impacted as expected by SR. These findings show the viability of studying experimental chronic sleep restriction outside the laboratory, assuming appropriate safety precautions are taken, thus allowing investigators to significantly increase ecological validity over strictly controlled in-lab studies.
Highlights
There is a large volume of in-laboratory experimental data showing the negative impact of chronic sleep restriction (SR) and/or unfavorable circadian timing on alertness, mood, and performance [1,2,3,4,5]
3630 individuals completed the online survey, 256 agreed via email response to participate in the 3-week study, 221 of these showed for the initial in-person session
This study aimed to build on prior work where sleep schedules were manipulated outside the laboratory in an effort to study SR in more naturalistic settings [10,11,12,13,14]
Summary
There is a large volume of in-laboratory experimental data showing the negative impact of chronic sleep restriction (SR) and/or unfavorable circadian timing on alertness, mood, and performance [1,2,3,4,5] These multi-day studies have provided foundational data defining adverse consequences, identifying relevant mechanisms, and setting the stage for more applied research. Intensive multi-day lab studies require significant financial and personnel resources, involve extensive levels of control not experienced in everyday life, and can only recruit individuals capable of living in the lab for multiple consecutive days These factors limit the feasibility and sample size of such studies, as well as the generalizability of their findings.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
