Neurobehavioural functions during recurrent periods of sleep restriction: effects of intraindividual variability in sleep duration.

In young adults, more variable short sleep schedules incorporating days of prophylactic or recovery sleep might mitigate compounding vigilance deficits resulting from recurrent cycles of sleep restriction. However, processing speed and subjective sleepiness were still impaired in both short sleep schedules. Getting sufficient sleep consistently is the only way to ensure optimal neurobehavioural functioning.