When Sleep Isn t Perfect: Risk and Resilience for Cognitive Consequences of Imperfect Sleep Duration and Suboptimal Timing of Tasks in Circadian Rhythm
Abstract
Topic Area: Sleep Disorders. Gap and Priority Research Area: Research on how the disruption of normal sleep and circadian rhythms adversely affects health, safety, performance, and productivity of military and civilian populations. A panel of clinicians and researchers who are experts in the field of sleep have just published recommendations that adults obtain 7 or more hours of sleep nightly for optimal health and functioning. Additionally, research indicates that an individual s circadian rhythm has an impact on functioning and health, and that each individual will perform better at certain times in the 24-hour day than at others based on his/her in-built circadian cycle. Due to the practical demands of work, family and other factors, many Americans are not able to achieve recommended sleep durations. Furthermore, many adults must perform their occupational tasks at times that are poorly synchronized with their circadian rhythm. For example, "morning larks," or people who prefer to wake early and go to bed early, are often required to work evening or night shifts. In contrast, "night owls" are often required to work morning shifts to satisfy their role responsibilities. While the barriers to following sleep and task-timing recommendations are high among civilians, they may be even greater in the military, when military missions and combat operations involve work around the clock and with limited time for sleep. The goal of the proposed project is to better understand how habitual sleep duration and an individual s chronotype (one s tendency towards being a "morning lark" or a "night owl") impact cognitive performance, or one s ability to perform mental processes that are not only fundamental for everyday functioning, but that must be maximized in contexts such as driving, operating heavy machinery, and in high-stakes situations such as military operations. Specifically, this project will address several critical questions: (1) How exactly does sleep duration, and an unusually short (or long) night of sleep, affect cognitive functioning? (2) How does chronotype, and performing a task at a time that is poorly aligned with one s chronotype, affect cognitive functioning? (3) How do factors such as age, gender, lifestyle behaviors such as exercise and alcohol intake, and mood, impact cognitive performance and the degree to which short sleep duration and poor task timing (relative to chronotype) impact cognitive performance? The project is highly innovative because it proposes to utilize data collected by an established internet-based cognitive training program, which has over 50 million users. For the purposes of this project, academic researchers will utilize data from a subset of over 2 million male and female adult participants, for whom information on cognitive performance, sleep duration, chronotype, time of training, age, gender, lifestyle behaviors, and mood are available. This sample size is unparalleled in most medical research and generates an ability to understand sleep, chronotype, and other factors affecting performance in unprecedented ways. Existing studies, including laboratory-based studies, have samples that are far too small to examine all of the questions the current study proposes. The impact of the proposed research is expected to be high for both research and practical applications in the military and civilian setting. Answering critical questions related to sleep, chronotype, and other individual characteristics and behaviors that affect cognitive performance will strengthen future research in the field; help clinicians advise their patients about wise sleep, job choice, and lifestyle habits; and help human resource managers and institutions best decide how to create work and duty schedules that maximize the ability of individuals and organizations to safely, efficiently, and effectively reach their goals and objectives.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Jan 31, 2017
- Source ID
- W81XWH1610259
Entities
People
- Anne Richards
Organizations
- Northern California Institute for Research and Education
- United States Army