Sleep Loss Is Harder on Social Butterflies

The following article will be featured on an upcoming episode of "Dr. Asa on Call" with Dr. Asa Andrew

If you've ever rolled your eyes when the social butterflies in your circle -- the ones who go out every night after work -- complain of chronic tiredness, you might be in for a surprise. It may not be sleep deprivation and late night habits alone that make them tired. It could be their personality type.

A new study suggests that extroverts suffer more following sleep deprivation than introverts do, at least in cases where they're socially engaged. The research, published in the most recent issue of the journal Sleep, indicates that extroverts deprived of sleep are less alert than their more introverted counterparts when both engage in social activities. The study also found that sleep deprived extroverts and introverts performed about the same on wakefulness tests when both types were socially isolated.

The research was conducted using 48 volunteer subjects who were forced to stay awake for 36 hours under the scrutiny of researchers at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research. The subjects were divided into groups based on personality tests determining if they were extroverts or introverts and then subjected to either socially enriched or socially impoverished environments. "Extraverts exposed to social environments were more vulnerable to subsequent sleep deprivation than were introverts," the study authors concluded.

Researchers aren't sure why extroverts who are socially active have more trouble with wakefulness, but they did have a few theories, including the idea that social engagement may fatigue the same areas of the brain responsible for alertness. Since introverts tend not to be as socially engaged as extroverts, they may not experience the same level of brain activity when engaged in social activities. It's possible introverts might also naturally shy away from the stimulation of a social environment.

Dr. Vidya Krishnan, associate director of the MetroHealth Center for Sleep Medicine in Cleveland, though not involved in the study, commented on the research, noting that when extroverts are socially active, there may be a part of their brains that is more active metabolically than it is in introverts.

"When you're being socially active, your mind is more active," she told AOL Health. "You're using more memory and concentration, and you're probably walking around a lot more." Introverts may just not get that same kind of stimulation from group activities, she said.

Researchers at Walter Reed were particularly interested in how personality type might make one better suited for tasks that often involve sleep deprivation, including military duties requiring long periods of wakefulness as well as shift work.

"It's interesting to know that there are certain people less affected by sleep deprivation," Krishnan adds. "I see a lot of shift workers who have trouble coping with sleep deprivation. If we can find predictors of who's going to have trouble with sleep deprivation, it may be helpful for preventing sleep problems to begin with."

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