Running head: SLEEP AND NEUROBEHAVIORAL PERFORMANCE 1
Sleep plays a vital and influential role in both mental and physical health by regulating
our mood, memory, attention, and executive functioning (Talbot, 2010; Nilsson, 2005). Thus, the
effects of sleep deprivation in adolescents has proved to be an important area of study and
research. At the South Australia Centre for Sleep Research, Louca and Short (2014) studied the
effects of one night’s sleep deprivation on neurobehavioral functioning in adolescents. The
participants in this research study were 12 adolescents (6 male and 6 female) between the ages of
14 and 18. These participants went through multiple tests to validate their psychological health.
They were also self-reported as “good sleepers;” these claims were supported by the data
cultivated by sleep diaries and wrist activity monitors.
Each day, the participants underwent a series of tests that measured sustained attention,
