PAYING DOWN THE SLEEP DEBT: REALIZATION OF BENEFITS DURING Subsequent sleep restriction and recovery

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PAYING DOWN THE SLEEP DEBT: REALIZATION OF BENEFITS DURING
SUBSEQUENT SLEEP RESTRICTION AND RECOVERY


T. L. Rupp, N. J. Wesensten, P. D. Bliese, and T. J. Balkin



The study objective was to determine whether sleep
extension (a) improves alertness and performance during
subsequent sleep restriction and (b) mediates the rate at
which alertness and performance are restored by postrestriction
recovery sleep. Twenty-four healthy adult
participants (ages 18-39) were randomly assigned to an
Extended [10 hours time in bed (TIB)] or Habitual [mean
(SD) = 7.09 (0.7)] sleep group for one week, followed by
one Baseline (10 hours or habitual TIB), seven Sleep
Restriction (3 hours TIB), and five Recovery Sleep
nights (8 hours TIB) with performance [Psychomotor
Vigilance Task (PVT)] and alertness [Maintenance of
Wakefulness Test (MWT); Stanford Sleepiness Scale
(SSS)] tests administered hourly throughout. We
conclude that the extent to which sleep restriction
impairs alertness and performance, and the rate at which
these impairments are subsequently reversed by recovery
sleep, varies as a function of the amount of nightly sleep
obtained prior to the sleep restriction period