Sleep Deprived and Sweating It Out: The Effects of Total Sleep Deprivation on Skin Conductance Reactivity to Psychosocial Stress

Abstract

STUDY OBJECTIVES: We examined how sleep deprivation alters physiological responses to psychosocial stress by evaluating changes in skin conductance. DESIGN: Between-subjects design with one group allocated to 24 h of total sleep deprivation and the other to rested wakefulness. SETTING: The study took place in a research laboratory. PARTICIPANTS: Participants were 40 healthy young adults recruited from a university. INTERVENTIONS: Sleep deprivation and feedback. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: Electrodermal activity was monitored while participants completed a difficult perceptual task with false feedback. All participants showed increased skin conductance levels following stress. However, compared to well-rested participants, sleep deprived participants showed higher skin conductance reactivity with increasing stress levels. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that sleep deprivation augments allostatic responses to increasing psychosocial stress. Consequentially, we propose sleep loss as a risk factor that can influence the pathogenic effects of stress.

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