Differential effects of sleep deprivation on cognitive performance

Abstract

The study examines the question whether individual vulnerability to effects of sleep deprivation on cognitive and psychomotor performance is related to personality traits. 46 participants stayed for 13 days in DLR’s sleep laboratory AMSAN. Sleep was restricted totally or partly every three nights. The level of performance was monitored in three-hour intervals with a cognitive test battery. Most participants showed the strongest performance decrements after 26 and 32 hours of sleep deprivation. Especially for tests of sustained attention, calculated change scores were negatively related to extraversion as measured by the Freiburger Personality Inventory. The findings confirm parts of Eysenck’s theory of personality that introverts due to their higher cortical arousal level need less external stimulation to perform.