INFLUENCE OF CHRONIC SLEEP DEPRIVATION ON THE CLINICAL THINKING OF FUTURE PHYSICIANS

Chronic sleep deprivation is a prevalent issue among medical students and has significant implications for the development of clinical reasoning and decision-making skills. Insufficient sleep impairs cognitive functions such as attention, memory consolidation, problem-solving, and critical thinking, which are essential for accurate clinical judgments. Neurobiologically, sleep deprivation disrupts prefrontal cortex activity, synaptic plasticity, and neurotransmitter balance, leading to slower information processing and reduced accuracy in diagnostic reasoning. Studies have shown that prolonged sleep restriction negatively affects academic performance, clinical skill acquisition, and patient care readiness in future physicians. Understanding the impact of chronic sleep deprivation on clinical thinking is crucial for designing effective educational and wellness interventions that optimize both cognitive performance and healthcare quality [1,2].