Effects of total sleep deprivation on divided attention performance.

Dividing attention across two tasks performed simultaneously usually results in impaired performance on one or both tasks. Most studies have found no difference in the dual-task cost of dividing attention in rested and sleep-deprived states. We hypothesized that, for a divided attention task that is...

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Main Authors: Eric Chern-Pin Chua, Eric Fang, Joshua J Gooley
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2017-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5699793?pdf=render
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author Eric Chern-Pin Chua
Eric Fang
Joshua J Gooley
author_facet Eric Chern-Pin Chua
Eric Fang
Joshua J Gooley
author_sort Eric Chern-Pin Chua
collection DOAJ
description Dividing attention across two tasks performed simultaneously usually results in impaired performance on one or both tasks. Most studies have found no difference in the dual-task cost of dividing attention in rested and sleep-deprived states. We hypothesized that, for a divided attention task that is highly cognitively-demanding, performance would show greater impairment during exposure to sleep deprivation. A group of 30 healthy males aged 21-30 years was exposed to 40 h of continuous wakefulness in a laboratory setting. Every 2 h, subjects completed a divided attention task comprising 3 blocks in which an auditory Go/No-Go task was 1) performed alone (single task); 2) performed simultaneously with a visual Go/No-Go task (dual task); and 3) performed simultaneously with both a visual Go/No-Go task and a visually-guided motor tracking task (triple task). Performance on all tasks showed substantial deterioration during exposure to sleep deprivation. A significant interaction was observed between task load and time since wake on auditory Go/No-Go task performance, with greater impairment in response times and accuracy during extended wakefulness. Our results suggest that the ability to divide attention between multiple tasks is impaired during exposure to sleep deprivation. These findings have potential implications for occupations that require multi-tasking combined with long work hours and exposure to sleep loss.
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spelling doaj.art-3f5a1427285947b49519a31aaf1edb472022-12-21T20:29:51ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032017-01-011211e018709810.1371/journal.pone.0187098Effects of total sleep deprivation on divided attention performance.Eric Chern-Pin ChuaEric FangJoshua J GooleyDividing attention across two tasks performed simultaneously usually results in impaired performance on one or both tasks. Most studies have found no difference in the dual-task cost of dividing attention in rested and sleep-deprived states. We hypothesized that, for a divided attention task that is highly cognitively-demanding, performance would show greater impairment during exposure to sleep deprivation. A group of 30 healthy males aged 21-30 years was exposed to 40 h of continuous wakefulness in a laboratory setting. Every 2 h, subjects completed a divided attention task comprising 3 blocks in which an auditory Go/No-Go task was 1) performed alone (single task); 2) performed simultaneously with a visual Go/No-Go task (dual task); and 3) performed simultaneously with both a visual Go/No-Go task and a visually-guided motor tracking task (triple task). Performance on all tasks showed substantial deterioration during exposure to sleep deprivation. A significant interaction was observed between task load and time since wake on auditory Go/No-Go task performance, with greater impairment in response times and accuracy during extended wakefulness. Our results suggest that the ability to divide attention between multiple tasks is impaired during exposure to sleep deprivation. These findings have potential implications for occupations that require multi-tasking combined with long work hours and exposure to sleep loss.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5699793?pdf=render
spellingShingle Eric Chern-Pin Chua
Eric Fang
Joshua J Gooley
Effects of total sleep deprivation on divided attention performance.
PLoS ONE
title Effects of total sleep deprivation on divided attention performance.
title_full Effects of total sleep deprivation on divided attention performance.
title_fullStr Effects of total sleep deprivation on divided attention performance.
title_full_unstemmed Effects of total sleep deprivation on divided attention performance.
title_short Effects of total sleep deprivation on divided attention performance.
title_sort effects of total sleep deprivation on divided attention performance
url http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5699793?pdf=render
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