Differential Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Cognitive Performance Hans-Juergen Hoermann, Mona Mischke, Eva-Maria Elmenhorst & Sibylle Benderoth
Institute of Aerospace Medicine, DLR Hamburg/Cologne 32nd EAAP-Conference, Cascais/Portugal, 26-30 September 2016
• Aviation
• Road transportation
• Railway
• Maintenance
• Health care
• Process control
• …
Fatigue Is a Critical Safety Factor
Hoermann et al.: Differential Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Cognitive Performance. 32nd EAAP, Cascais, Sep 26-30 2016
Risk factors:
• Extended duty times
• Lack of adequate rest
• Night flying/driving
• Monotony
• Stress
• Circadian disruption
• Medical conditions
When Are We Fatigued?
Hoermann et al.: Differential Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Cognitive Performance. 32nd EAAP, Cascais, Sep 26-30 2016
Source: FMCSA, 2009
Areas of Performance Affected by Fatigue
Hoermann et al.: Differential Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Cognitive Performance. 32nd EAAP, Cascais, Sep 26-30 2016
Cognitive Performance
Simple attention
Lim & Dinges, 2010; Wickens et al. (2015)
Complex attention
Processing speed
Working memory, short-term memory
Logical reasoning & crystallized intelligence
Reaction times and vigilance (sustained attention) Van Dongen & Dinges, 2005
Auditory attention Binks et al. 1999
Information gathering and central processing Ratcliff & Van Dongen, 2009
Access to declarative knowledge Gunzelmann et al., 2012
Complex Behaviours
Recognition of emotions Killgore, Grugle et al., 2011
Decision making Petrilli et al., 2006
Flight performance, instrument scanning Caldwell et al., 2004; Previc et al., 2009
• Amount of sleep
• Time of day
• Circadian (de-)synchrony
• Type of task (complexity)
• Individual characteristics (e.g. extraversion-introversion)
Factors of Cognitive Performance with Restricted Sleep
Hoermann et al.: Differential Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Cognitive Performance. 32nd EAAP, Cascais, Sep 26-30 2016
Eysenck‘s Theory of Personality Physiological Basis of Extraversion - Introversion
Hoermann et al.: Differential Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Cognitive Performance. 32nd EAAP, Cascais, Sep 26-30 2016
Level of Arousal
Eysenck‘s Theory of Personality Physiological Basis of Extraversion - Introversion
Hoermann et al.: Differential Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Cognitive Performance. 32nd EAAP, Cascais, Sep 26-30 2016
Level of Arousal
1. Does the personality trait Introversion – Extraversion (I-E) moderate the performance impairment due to sleep deprivation?
2. Does time-on-task amplify this effect?
3. Is the moderating effect of I-E general or is it more prominent in tasks with low stimulation, such as monitoring tasks?
Research Questions
Hoermann et al.: Differential Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Cognitive Performance. 32nd EAAP, Cascais, Sep 26-30 2016
Sample and Procedure
• Sample • N = 46 subjects (20 female, 26 male) with 26.5 years mean age • Mostly students in good mental and physical conditions • No sleep disorders, no medication, and no drug or alcohol misuse • In advance briefing • In advance adjustment of daily activity cycle • In advance test training (20 to 40 distributed trials)
• Procedure
• 13 days and 12 nights in DLR‘s sleep laboratory • First day for adaptation. Baseline on day 2 and 3 • Cognitive testing during time awake every three hours • Experimental protocol with three different interventions
Hoermann et al.: Differential Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Cognitive Performance. 32nd EAAP, Cascais, Sep 26-30 2016
• Five different tests of cognitive performance • Psychomotor Vigilance Task (PVT), 10 and 3 minutes versions • Unstable Tracking Task (UTT) • Perceptual Speed Test (PST) • Mental Concentration Test (MCO) • Spatial Orientation Test (SPO)
• Freiburger Personality Inventory (FPI-R)
Methods
Hoermann et al.: Differential Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Cognitive Performance. 32nd EAAP, Cascais, Sep 26-30 2016
Psychomotor Vigilance Task (PVT 10 & PVT 3 minutes)
Hoermann et al.: Differential Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Cognitive Performance. 32nd EAAP, Cascais, Sep 26-30 2016
Unstable Tracking Task (UTT)
Hoermann et al.: Differential Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Cognitive Performance. 32nd EAAP, Cascais, Sep 26-30 2016
Visual Perceptual Speed (PSP)
Hoermann et al.: Differential Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Cognitive Performance. 32nd EAAP, Cascais, Sep 26-30 2016
Mental Concentration Test (MCO)
Hoermann et al.: Differential Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Cognitive Performance. 32nd EAAP, Cascais, Sep 26-30 2016
Spatial Orientation Test (SPO)
Hoermann et al.: Differential Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Cognitive Performance. 32nd EAAP, Cascais, Sep 26-30 2016
Reliable Change Index (RCI)
Hoermann et al.: Differential Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Cognitive Performance. 32nd EAAP, Cascais, Sep 26-30 2016
• Stability of RCIs accross two points of time (test-retest correlations)
• PVT10 .67**
• PVT3 .60**
• UTT .61**
• PSP .31*
• MCO .76**
• SPO .57**
How Stable Is Change?
Hoermann et al.: Differential Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Cognitive Performance. 32nd EAAP, Cascais, Sep 26-30 2016
Distribution of the I-E Personality Scale
Hoermann et al.: Differential Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Cognitive Performance. 32nd EAAP, Cascais, Sep 26-30 2016
Mean = 9.3 SD = 2.4 N = 46
Comparison 1 : 26h awake time
• I-E group membership as IV, five RCIs as DV • F(5, 17) = 4.65, p = 0.007, ƞp
2 = .58
Comparison 2 : 32h awake time
• I-E group membership as IV, five RCIs as DV • F(5, 17) = 3.74, p = 0.018, ƞp
2 = .52
MANOVA Results
Hoermann et al.: Differential Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Cognitive Performance. 32nd EAAP, Cascais, Sep 26-30 2016
Effects of Sleep Deprivation: PVT and UTT
Hoermann et al.: Differential Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Cognitive Performance. 32nd EAAP, Cascais, Sep 26-30 2016
220,0
230,0
240,0
250,0
260,0
270,0
280,0
Baseline 9:00 AM 3:00 PM
Med
ian
Reac
tion
Tim
es
PVT 10
E
M
I
190,0
200,0
210,0
220,0
230,0
240,0
250,0
Baseline 9:00 AM 3:00 PM
Med
ian
Reac
tion
Tim
es
PVT 3
E
M
I
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Baseline 9:00 AM 3:00 PM
Aver
age
Devi
atio
n Sc
ore
UTT
E
M
I
Effects of Sleep Deprivation: PST, MCO, SPO
Hoermann et al.: Differential Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Cognitive Performance. 32nd EAAP, Cascais, Sep 26-30 2016
38
40
42
44
46
48
50
Baseline 9:00 AM 3:00 PM
Num
ber C
orre
ct
PST
E
M
I
70
80
90
100
110
120
130
Baseline 9:00 AM 3:00 PM
Num
ber C
orre
ct
MCO
E
M
I
30
35
40
45
50
55
60
65
Baseline 9:00 AM 3:00 PM
Num
ber C
orre
ct
SPO
E
M
I
1. Does the personality trait Introversion – Extraversion (I-E) moderate the performance impairment due to sleep deprivation?
2. Does time-on-task amplify this effect?
3. Is the moderating effect of I-E general or is it more prominent in tasks with low stimulation, such as monitoring tasks?
Results
Hoermann et al.: Differential Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Cognitive Performance. 32nd EAAP, Cascais, Sep 26-30 2016
• Performance changes after sleep deprivation show considerable stability
• Individual resilience to effects of sleep restriction seems to be trait-related
• However, the I-E effect can only be identified for RT psychomotor tasks
• Do effects of personality based vulnerability to sleep restiction also account for individual differences of chronic sleep restriction?
• A subject for regulation/selection?
• Task design, e.g. social enrichment for monotonous tasks
• Mobile fatigue warning devices
• Advanced fatigue modeling should include individual factors
Conclusions and Open Issues
Hoermann et al.: Differential Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Cognitive Performance. 32nd EAAP, Cascais, Sep 26-30 2016
