Sleep loss affected mental speed and accuracy in different ways
A meta-analysis found that sleep loss affected working memory, inhibition and flexible thinking, while reaction-time changes differed across tasks.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
Sleep loss was linked to poorer performance across executive-function tasks, but the pattern depended on what researchers measured. Responses slowed significantly in most task categories; cognitive flexibility was the exception for reaction time. Accuracy results varied across tasks, showing why speed alone gives an incomplete picture of performance after sleep loss.
The abstract does not describe participant characteristics, comparison conditions or sleep-loss duration, and it provides no exact pooled estimates or confidence intervals. Everyday effects cannot be quantified from this summary.
What was tested
The review included both complete sleep deprivation and partial sleep restriction. It separated tasks involving holding information in mind, controlling responses and switching between tasks, then analyzed response speed and accuracy separately within each task category.
Different measures, different patterns
Accuracy effects were described as medium to large for task switching, task repetition and memory maintenance, but small for interference inhibition. The nonsignificant reaction-time finding for cognitive flexibility does not establish that this ability was unaffected.
The original publication
The impairments of sleep loss on core executive functions: General and task-specific effects.
Cao Y, Xie T, Ma N
Sleep Med Rev · 2025
- PubMed ID
- 40946426
- Record checked
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