Sleep duration variability is associated with lower inhibitory control after bariatric surgery in adult females

Abstract

Introduction: Short sleep may lead to impairments in executive function, including inhibitory control (IC). After bariatric surgery, better IC is associated with more favorable weight loss and weight maintenance outcomes.

Methods: This study examined the relationships between IC via a Go/No-Go (GNG) task with sleep outcomes in a sample of 22 adult females (age, 53.5 ± 9.3 years and BMI, 35.5 ± 8.5 kg/m²) who underwent bariatric surgery. Sleep was captured via 7-day actigraphy and sleep diaries and one night of in-home polysomnography. IC was assessed via a computerized GNG task.

Results: Greater sleep duration variability, but not mean sleep duration nor sleep architecture, was associated with greater reaction time (RT) variability (i.e., the standard deviation in RT across trials) on the GNG task (r = 0.57 and p = 0.01).

Conclusions: Consistent sleep duration may support greater IC, though larger studies are needed to confirm these exploratory associations and determine whether sleep duration variability affects weight regain risk in this population.

Keywords

bariatric surgery / executive function / Go/No-Go task / polysomnography / sleep

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2026 The Author(s). Sleep Research published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Chinese Sleep Research Society.