WEDNESDAY, June 15 (HealthDay News) -- Men and women who get
just six hours of sleep each night during the workweek will need
more than the weekend to recover from the cumulative effects of
this mild sleep deprivation, a new study revealed.
Researchers also found that women are better able to cope with
and recover from this kind of sleep loss than men.
"The usual practice of extending sleep during the weekend after a busy workweek associated with mild sleep loss is not adequate in reversing the cumulative effects on cognitive function resulting from this mild sleep deprivation," said the study's principal investigator Dr. Alexandros N. Vgontzas, professor of psychiatry and endowed chair in sleep disorders medicine at the Penn State College of Medicine, in an American Academy of Sleep Medicine news release.
In the study, researchers installed 34 people, with an average
age of 25 years and no sleep problems, in a sleep lab for 13
nights. There, they periodically measured sleepiness and
performance. Participants were allowed to sleep eight hours a night
for the first four nights to assess their typical functioning. For
the next six nights, however, they were allowed to sleep only six
hours a night, followed by three "recovery" nights of 10 hours of
sleep each night.
The study's findings, slated for presentation on Wednesday at
Associated Professional Sleep Societies meeting in Minneapolis,
revealed that after a week of sleep restriction, two nights of
extra sleep are not enough to fully reverse the adverse effects of
the sleep loss.
Men and women showed both significantly decreased performance on
psychomotor tests, as well as subjective and objective
sleepiness.
Women recovered better than men, however, the study pointed out.
The researchers said the gender differences were linked to slow
wave, or deep sleep, considered the restorative potion of
sleep.
"In women, but not in men, deep sleep appeared to have a protective effect," added Vgontzas, who is also director of the Sleep Research and Treatment Center at Penn State in Hershey, Pa. "Women with a higher amount of deep sleep can handle better the effects of one workweek of mild sleep deprivation, and their recovery is more complete after two nights of extended sleep."
More information
The U.S. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
provides more information on
sleep.