| Objectives Sleep is important for health and cognition across ages and species.However,sleep deficiency is common in modern society,especially among young adults,because of extended daytime and nighttime activities,alcohol,caffeine,and stimulant consumption,and e-products.The present study stringently controlled conditions of SD to examine the relationship between SD/sleep recovery and cognition,alertness,and related serum biomarkers.Our goal was to discover possible biomarkers and treatment targets for SD-induced cognitive deficits and alertness decline.Methods Twenty-one participants were enrolled and underwent SD for 40 h and then 8 h recovery sleep(RS).Before SD,seven days sleep-wake cycles recording by actigraphy,and two consecutive nights of objective sleep assessment by polysomnography were conducted.The assessment of Montreal Cognitive Assessments(MoCA)and the collection of fasting blood was conducted in the three consecutive mornings.The psychomotor vigilance task(PVT)was performed with intervals of 2 h during SD and after 8 h RS to assess the level of objective alertness.Some serological markers were measured by using enzyme linked immunosorbent assay.Results Compared with PSG parameters during the baseline night,sleep efficiency(p < 0.001),the time of stage 3 sleep(p < 0.001),and REM latency(p = 0.002)significantly increased.Sleep latency(p < 0.001),the time of sleep stage 1 sleep(p < 0.001),the time of stage 2 sleep(p = 0.031),REM sleep(p = 0.001),and total wake after sleep onset(WASO: p = 0.001)significantly decreased during the RN;Compared with the baseline,the total MoCA score after 24 h SD was significantly decreased(p =0.004)with the memory domain was most affected(p = 0.026).Moreover,subjects showed deterioration in the reaction time(RT)and lapses of alertness performance during SD(intermediate RT: p = 0.002;lapses: p = 0.001)and even after 8 h RS(intermediate RT: p = 0.002;lapses: p = 0.011).The serum brain derived neurotrophic factor(BDNF)(p = 0.013)and cortisol(p = 0.028)decreased,and orexin-A increased(p = 0.023)after 24 h SD.Correlation analysis showed that there was a positive correlation between decrease of MoCA score and declined serum BDNF level(r = 0.52,p = 0.015),and a negative correlation between deterioration of PVT intermediate RT and the increase of serum orexin-A level(r =-0.53,p = 0.014).The serum level of orexin-A after SD was negatively correlated with sleep efficiency(r =-0.59,p = 0.005)and positively correlated with wake after sleep onset during the RS(r = 0.62,p = 0.003).Conclusion The present findings provide additional evidence of the effects of acute SD on sleep parameters,cognition,and alertness in healthy young people.Memory appeared to be the most affected with regard to overall cognition,and alertness was negatively impacted by SD.These behavioral changes were accompanied by changes in some serological markers,including BDNF and orexin-A.These findings provide additional insights into other possible mechanisms that are associated with the effects of acute SD on cognition and alertness. |
