UEffect of acute sleep deprivation on concentration and mood states with a controlled effect of experienced stress

TLDR: Cognitive abilities seem to be more resistant to sleep deprivation, as previous studies have shown, mood changes rather than decreased concentration occur after acute sleep deprivation.

Abstract: Background: Sleep is a biological function, which enables and allows regeneration, rest and preparation for further activity and also allows for previous activity and experience to organize and merge with our pre-existing experience. Sleep deprivation impairs several aspects of human functioning and the main purpose of our article was to verify if acute one night sleep deprivation (already) leads to changes in concentration and mood with a controlled effect of stress. Methods: We applied an attention test (TP – test pozornosti) before and after acute sleep deprivation in nine healthy young males. We measured their mood states with a BRUMS (Brunel Mood Scale) profile and monitored the level of cortisol throughout the entire experiment. We also compared the results of the participants with the results of a control group to verify the effects of the experiment. Results: Our results show that acute sleep deprivation did not cause any significant changes in concentration. However, acute sleep deprivation did cause mood changes–our subjects reported feeling more tired and less vigorous at the end of the acute sleep deprivation. Cortisol preserved the same circadian rhythm following the period of sleep deprivation. Conclusions: As previous studies have shown, mood changes rather than decreased concentration occur after acute sleep deprivation – cognitive abilities seem to be more resistant to sleep deprivation. Further studies with longer sleep deprivation should show how long it takes to disrupt our concentration and higher cognitive abilities.