Abstract
We studied the influence of sleep restriction on standing posture in 10 healthy volunteers (6 men and 4 women), aged 19 to 24 years (mean, 21.4 years), with normal hearing and vestibular function and no history of leg trauma. They were examined under three conditions: in the morning after sleeping well, in the morning after remaining awake all night, and in the afternoon after remaining awake all night. Each subject was asked to stand on a stabilimeter fixed on a platform attached to a rotating device. We examined the stability of each subject's stance while the platform was stationary and while it was rotating clockwise at a speed of 60 deg/s. At the same time, they underwent a test of mental arithmetic for 20 minutes (Uchida-Kraepelin test). The total length of traces of the center of pressure and its perturbation area, when they were measured while the platform was stationary, was significantly (p<0.05) increased under the condition of sleep restriction. We concluded that sleep restriction degrades the ability of body balance, even in normal young people.
