Sleep and Performance

Sleep and Performance

Colleges: EFSCOM, CAS, CON, CVM

In our modern 24/7 society, understanding sleep and biological rhythms are critical for optimal health and performance. The Sleep and Performance Research Center (SPRC) conducts human and animal model research in laboratory and field settings in support of basic, applied, translational, and clinical sleep science. The SPRC focuses on understanding the brain organization of sleep in humans and animals and on using this understanding to link sleep to key aspects of performance and health, be they cognitive, behavioral, social, physiological, or medical. The Center’s research covers the spectrum from biomolecular and cellular work and basic animal studies to human basic, translational and clinical investigations and policy making, and contributes to sustaining productivity, safety, health, and well-being. Beyond the Center’s research, there is significant research activity in sleep and circadian rhythms research, interdisciplinary sleep research, including cognition and cognitive neuroscience studies that focus on how the role of working memory and executive function and decision making are affected by sleep deprivation. Sleep and performance research has a strong translational component, with significant research into the effects of shift work on health care providers and first responders, and nationally acclaimed expertise on sleep loss and stress pertaining to police officers and military personnel. The sleep research programs have been highly successful in garnering extramural funding with internationally renowned faculty recognized for their significant scientific breakthroughs, inventions and patents, and regulatory and policy changes at the national level. The SPRC hosted the 2019 International Symposium on Shiftwork and Working Time, which brought the 200 most influential shiftwork researchers and practitioners from around the world to WSU. Research on implicit bias and fatigue was featured by National Geographic, and research on the internal desynchronized metabolic rhythms in shift work appeared in a broad range of media outlets across the globe.