Education research: cognitive performance is preserved in sleep-deprived neurology residents

To test the hypotheses that sleep deprivation in neurology residents is associated with performance deficits and that vigilance and cognitive performance is more compromised after overnight on-call duty compared to night shift.

Thirty-eight neurology residents of a university teaching hospital participated in a prospective single-blind comparison study. Residents were recruited according to their working schedule and divided into 3 groups: 24 hours overnight on-call duty, night shift, and regular day shift (controls). All participants underwent serial measurements of sleepiness and cognitive performance in the morning directly after or before their shift. Pupillary sleepiness test and Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test were applied. Perceived sleepiness was assessed by a questionnaire.

Sleepiness was increased in residents after night shift and overnight call compared to controls while the type of night duty was not associated with the extent of sleepiness. Sleep-deprived residents did not show any performance deficits on the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test. Cognitive performance was not associated with sleepiness measures.

Night shift and overnight call duty have a similar impact on alertness in neurology residents. Sleep-deprived neurology residents may be able to overcome sleep loss-related performance difficulties for short periods.