Online assessment of sustained attention following sleep restriction

Objective: To assess the feasibility of conducting home-based sleep restriction studies with actigraphic monitoring of sleep and a new online continuous performance test (OCPT). Methods: Thirty-four university undergraduate students (24 females, 19-30 years old) underwent repeated home assessments using self-administered OCPT following a regular night of sleep (8. h or more) and following sleep restriction (4. h of sleep) in a within-between subjects counter-balanced design. Actigraphy was used to monitor sleep. OCPT sessions were scheduled in the morning and the evening of days following normal and restricted sleep. Results: OCPT measures demonstrated acceptable test-retest reliability. Actigraphic monitoring revealed good compliance with sleep requirements, and reported alertness reflected significant effects of sleep manipulation (p<0001). In comparison to performance following an 8-h sleep night, sleep restriction to 4. h was associated with a significant increase in omission errors in the high-target section of the test (p<0005) and with a significant increase in omission errors in the low-target section of the test (p<01). Conclusions: These preliminary results support the feasibility of conducting home-based sleep restriction studies and the validity of the online version of the OCPT, suggesting that it may serve as a sensitive tool for assessment of sleep restriction/deprivation.