To be ultra alert!
Posted on 01/11/2006 1:36:14 AM PST by saganite
A person's thinking ability may be better after being awake for 24 hours or being drunk than it is following a good night's sleep, a study suggests. A University of Colorado team found understanding and short-term memory were worse in the minutes after waking.
Their finding has implications for workers such as doctors on night-duty, who are awoken and immediately asked to perform important tasks.
The study appears in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
For a short period, at least, the effects of sleep inertia may be as bad as or worse than being legally drunk
After the study participants had had six nights of monitored sleep lasting eight hours per night, they were given a performance test that involved adding randomly generated, two-digit numbers.
Based on the results of this test, the researchers concluded the subjects exhibited the most severe impairments to their short-term memory, counting skills and cognitive abilities from sleep inertia within the first three minutes after awakening.
The most severe effects of sleep inertia generally dissipated within the first 10 minutes, although its effects were often detectable for up to two hours, they added.
'At risk'
None of the nine study participants had any medical, psychiatric or sleep disorders and were not using alcohol, nicotine, recreational drugs or caffeine.
They had also spent several hours each day practicing the maths test used to quantify sleep inertia.
The study follows other research which has looked at the effects of going without sleep for over 24 hours - and found that has the same effect as being drunk.
Professor Kenneth Wright, who led the study, said: "This is the first time anyone has quantified the effects of sleep inertia.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.bbc.co.uk ...
Based on the results of this test, the researchers concluded the subjects exhibited the most severe impairments to their short-term memory, counting skills and cognitive abilities from sleep inertia within the first three minutes after awakening.For me the most severe effects of sleep inertia start to dissipate after, oh, the first hour. :-)The most severe effects of sleep inertia generally dissipated within the first 10 minutes, although its effects were often detectable for up to two hours, they added.
Remember kids, don't post to Free Republic until you've had breakfast first. :)
For me it's usually around noon before I become alert.
If I have an appointment for 10:00 I set the alarm for 8:00.
I'm still legally impaired when I get in the elevator.
Why don't they just phone me and ask about these things instead of wasting money on tests? Had to be done on a gov't grant!
If you're reading this at this time of the morning you MIGHT be an insomniac! LOL.
What are you talking about? It's only just after 9pm...
:)
Well then, if you're having a nightcap you could fit the other criteria! ;^)
I'll have one for you, as well! LOL!
Cheers mate!
I resemble that remark.
I'll go find some calculus equations to work on... ;-)
Or an ex-pat. I notice a few of us seem to be trolling around during this time. ;-)
'Tis 1:40 p.m. on my side of the world.
I love to read what some of the U.S. night-owl FReepers say at this time of day.
Oh.
"... worse after sleep."
Never mind.
I thought the guy said mental ability were worse after a good night's sheep.....
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