Cognitive control, bedtime patterns, and testing time in female adolescent students: behavioral and neuro-electrophysiological correlates

Amedeo D'Angiulli; Gabriel Byczynski; Wei-Hsien Yeh; George Garrett; Gary Goldfield; Peter Devenyi; Tibor Devenyi; Gerry Leisman

doi:10.3389/fpubh.2023.1022731

Cognitive control, bedtime patterns, and testing time in female adolescent students: behavioral and neuro-electrophysiological correlates

Front Public Health. 2023 Jun 19:11:1022731. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1022731. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Amedeo D'Angiulli¹, Gabriel Byczynski², Wei-Hsien Yeh³, George Garrett⁴, Gary Goldfield⁵, Peter Devenyi¹, Tibor Devenyi¹, Gerry Leisman^{6

7}

Affiliations

¹ Neuroscience of Imagination, Cognition and Emotion Research Lab, Department of Neuroscience, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
² School of Psychology, Institute of Neuroscience, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
³ Centre for Study and Treatment of Circadian Rhythms, Douglas Mental Health University Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
⁴ Ministry of Children and Family Development, Victoria, BC, Canada.
⁵ Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
⁶ Movement and Cognition Laboratory, Department of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Social Welfare and Health Science, University of Haifa, Mount Carmel, Israel.
⁷ Department of Neurology, Institute for Neurology and Neurosurgery, University of the Medical Science, Havana, Cuba.

Abstract

Introduction: Shorter and/or disrupted sleep during adolescence is associated with cognitive and mental health risks, particularly in females. We explored the relationship between bedtime behavior patterns co-varying with Social Jet Lag (SJL) and School Start Times (SST) and neurocognitive performance in adolescent female students.

Methods: To investigate whether time of day (morning vs. afternoon), early SSTs and days of the school week can be correlated with neurocognitive correlates of sleep insufficiency, we recruited 24 female students aged 16-18 to report sleep logs, and undergo event-related electroencephalographic recordings on Monday, Wednesday, mornings, and afternoons. Using a Stroop task paradigm, we analyzed correlations between reaction times (RTs), accuracy, time of day, day of week, electroencephalographic data, and sleep log data to understand what relationships may exist.

Results: Participants reported a 2-h sleep phase delay and SJL. Stroop interference influenced accuracy on Monday and Wednesday similarly, with better performance in the afternoon. For RTs, the afternoon advantage was much larger on Monday than Wednesday. Midline Event-Related Potentials (ERPs) yielded higher amplitudes and shorter latencies on Wednesday morning and Monday afternoon, in time windows related to attention or response execution. A notable exception were delayed ERP latencies on Wednesday afternoon. The latter could be explained by the fact that delta EEG waves tended to be the most prominent, suggesting heightened error monitoring due to accumulating mental fatigue.

Discussion: These findings provide insights into the interaction between SJL and SST and suggest evidence-based criteria for planning when female adolescents should engage in cognitive-heavy school activities such as tests or exams.

Keywords: adolescent sleep; bed time behaviors; circadian rhythm; electroencephalography; school start time; sleep patterns; social jet lag.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Circadian Rhythm* / physiology
Cognition
Female
Humans
Sleep* / physiology
Students / psychology
Time Factors