REVIEW article
Front. Neurosci.
Sec. Sleep and Circadian Rhythms
Volume 19 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fnins.2025.1626309
This article is part of the Research TopicExploring Circadian Rhythms and Sleep in NeurodegenerationView all articles
Manuscript category: Review
Provisionally accepted
- 1Changchun University of Chinese Medicine, Chang Chun, China
- 2The Second People's Hospital of Dalian, Dalian, China
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Background: Sleep is vital for physical and mental health, yet sleep deprivation is a widespread issue that may impair cognitive flexibility, leading to rigid thinking and slower decision-making. This scoping review synthesizes evidence on the impact of sleep deprivation or sleep loss on cognitive flexibility. Objective: To provide a comprehensive understanding of the complex and multifaceted effects of sleep deprivation on cognitive flexibility. Methods: We searched PubMed, Web of Science, ClinicalKey, Cochrane, Scopus, SinoMed, and CNKI for studies evaluating the effects of sleep deprivation on cognitive flexibility. Two researchers independently screened and extracted data, assessing study quality using the Mixed Method Appraisal Tool (MMAT). Results: Among the 410 retrieved articles, 6 randomized controlled trials and 11 non-randomized studies were included, focusing on the impact of sleep deprivation on cognitive flexibility across children, adolescents, college students, clinicians, athletes, and other adults. Eight studies found that sleep deprivation reduces cognitive flexibility, six reported no significant impact, and two noted temporary improvements due to physical stress. One study highlighted that being overweight exacerbates the negative effects of sleep deprivation on cognitive flexibility. Conclusions: Sleep deprivation may predominantly impair accuracy rather than reaction time. Total sleep deprivation consistently reduces task-switching accuracy and cognitive flexibility, whereas partial sleep deprivation's effects remain unclear.The primary biological mechanisms involve decreased cerebral oxygen supply, impaired cerebrovascular reactivity, and alterations in gene expression and hormone levels. Rigorous randomized trials with objective measures are needed to assess long-term impacts across populations and age groups.
Keywords: Sleep Deprivation, cognitive flexibility, Biological Mechanisms, cognitive performance, Executive Function
Received: 10 May 2025; Accepted: 30 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Sun, Qu, Zhang, Zhang, Zhang, Zhao and Zhang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Hongshi Zhang, Changchun University of Chinese Medicine, Chang Chun, China
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.