Nighttime Sleep Loss Dramatically Impairs Daytime Executive Performance, Suggests Study

Chronic insomnia remains a widespread disorder that disrupts essential neurotransmitters and executive function, expanding upon prior research linking sleep loss to neurotransmitter imbalances, reduced productivity, and academic decline. Addressing the clinical gap regarding neurocognitive deficits in healthcare training, researchers Adeeba Saleem and colleagues from Manav Rachna Dental College, Faridabad, and Dr. D. Y. Patil Medical College, Hospital and Research Centre, Pune, evaluated the correlation between insomnia severity, sleep quality, and cognitive performance in dental undergraduates.

Therefore, the comparative cross-sectional study evaluated 90 undergraduate dental students—45 insomniacs and 45 healthy controls—from March to July 2025 at Manav Rachna Dental College, Faridabad. Researchers assessed sleep quality, insomnia severity, and cognitive performance using validated tools, including the Insomnia Severity Index, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, and Montreal Cognitive Assessment.

Key Clinical Findings of the Study Includes:

• Elevated Cognitive Risk: The investigation demonstrated a 5.6-fold higher likelihood of cognitive decline among insomniacs compared to controls (Odds Ratio [OR] = 5.6, p = 0.000), with 72.2% of mildly cognitively impaired participants belonging to the insomniac cohort on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment.
• Compromised Sleep Quality: Researchers observed that insomniacs were 3.4 times more prone to poor sleep quality (OR = 3.4, p = 0.007), with 72.7% of severely sleep-hampered subjects identified as insomniacs on the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index.
• Severe Insomnia Prevalence: The study identified a 4.5-fold increased risk of severe symptom manifestation (OR = 4.5, p = 0.002), where 38.8% met sub-threshold criteria and 24.4% exhibited moderate clinical insomnia on the Insomnia Severity Index.
• Academic Year Disparity: Analysis established a significant correlation between study year and insomnia (p = 0.000), showing that first-year students constituted the highest insomniac proportion (55.8%), whereas interns predominantly comprised non-insomniac controls (55.8%).

The results suggest that chronic insomnia significantly impairs cognitive performance, sleep quality, and daily functioning in dental students, as evidenced by a 5.6-fold increase in cognitive dysfunction (p = 0.000) and a 3.4-fold higher rate of poor sleep quality (p = 0.007), underscoring an urgent requirement for clinical vigilance regarding sleep health among healthcare trainees.

Thus, the study concludes that clinicians should consider incorporating routine sleep screenings, evidence-based non-pharmacological sleep hygiene protocols, and cognitive evaluations during clinical assessments to identify sleep disturbances early and safeguard student cognitive functioning and academic performance.

While the study was limited by relying on a single cognitive screening tool and lacking insomnia chronicity stratification, future longitudinal research incorporating broader neurocognitive test batteries and duration-stratified cohorts could offer deeper insights into long-term outcomes.

Reference

Saleem A, Zarrin A, Zehra T, Krishnakumar K, Saleem A, Joshi C, Naved L, Sharma A. Mind Over Midnight: Unraveling the Mysteries of Insomnia and Cognitive Functioning. Indian Journal of Sleep Medicine. 2026;21(3):95–104.