Metacognitive accuracy is associated with self-reported sleep outcomes and subjective sleepiness
Abstract
Previous work has shown that performance degrades following acute or chronic sleep loss as does the capacity to judge one's own ability to perform. In this online study, we investigate the extent to which individuals are aware of their own ability to perform and what sleep-specific factors may contribute to their judgments of their own ability. In a large online survey-based study with no manipulation of sleep or induced sleep loss, we find that higher self-rated sleepiness and poorer subjective sleep quality are associated with lower accuracy of metacognitive judgments. Self-reported sleep outcomes show an additional relationship with confidence judgments made throughout a task. This provides preliminary evidence that sleepiness and poor sleep quality may affect perceptions of performance in a fraction arithmetic task in addition to actual performance.