Effect of sleep deprivation on postural control and dynamic stability in healthy young adults

Postural control results from non-linear interactions of multiple neuromusculoskeletal elements and contextual factors. The use of non-linear analyses that consider the temporal evolution of postural adjustments, such as sample entropy, could inform about the changes in postural control due to contextual disturbances such as sleep deprivation.

What are the effects of sleep deprivation on static postural control and dynamic stability in healthy young adults?

A quasi-experimental study was performed with 17 healthy young males submitted to 24 h of monitored sleep deprivation. The postural control was measured using sample entropy, area, and total average velocity of the center of pressure on a force platform. The dynamic stability was measured using the Modified Star Excursion Balance Test (SEBTm) composite score for each lower limb. Repeated-measures analysis of variance (baseline × 12 h × 15 h × 18 h × 21 h × 24 h of sleep deprivation) verified the effect of sleep deprivation in the postural control variables. Paired t-test compared the composite score of the SEBTm between baseline and 24 h sleep deprivation.

Sample entropy decreased after 18 h of sleep deprivation (p = 0.032) and 24 h of sleep deprivation (p = 0.001). Despite the significant main effect for the area (p = 0.012) and speed (p = 0.007) of the center of pressure, no pairwise differences were identified in the post hoc analysis. The non-dominant lower limb SEBTm composite score was reduced after 24 h of sleep deprivation (p = 0.033), and no difference was observed in the dominant limb.

Sleep deprivation reduced the adaptability in static postural control and dynamic stability of the non-dominant lower limb of healthy young male adults. Sample entropy seemed more sensitive to capture the effects of sleep deprivation than the classical postural control variables.