Effects of Sleep Loss and Circadian Rhythm on Executive Inhibitory Control in the Stroop and Simon Tasks

Abstract

This study assessed the influence of sleep loss and circadian rhythm on executive inhibitory control (i.e., the ability to inhibit conflicting response tendencies due to irrelevant information). Twelve ordinarily diurnally active, healthy young male participants performed the Stroop and the Simon task every 3 h in a 40-h constant routine protocol that comprised constant wakefulness under controlled behavioral and environmental conditions. In both tasks, overall performance showed clear circadian rhythm and sleep-loss effects. However, both Stroop and Simon interference remained unchanged across the 40 h of wakefulness, suggesting that neither cumulative sleep loss nor the circadian clock affects executive inhibitory control. The present findings challenge the widely held view that executive functions are especially vulnerable to the influence of sleep loss and circadian rhythm. (Author correspondence: [email protected])

Keywords:

• Circadian rhythm
• Constant routine
• Executive functions
• Inhibitory control
• Sleep loss
• Stroop interference

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We thank Ingo Fietze, Thomas Penzel, and Martin Glos for providing the sleep laboratory at the Charité in Berlin; Rainer Dietrich, Kathrin Pusch, and Jessica Rosenberg for their assistance in planning and organizing the study; Doreen Anders, Sylvia Frey, Andreas Häußler, Isabelle Jasper, Jakub Späti, Ildiko Meny, Katja Suckow, Stefan Vangeel, Johannes Gerwien, and Juliane Domke for their assistance in conducting the study; and all subjects for their participation. This research was part of the project “ClockWork” funded by the Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Benz Foundation.

Declaration of Interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.