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Irregular News for 01.12.06
United Kingdom -- Getting up in the morning is the first, and for many people, the most perilous moment of the day. You can sprain an ankle on the stairs, scald a hand while making tea or be floored in an ungainly tussle with your underwear. But according to researchers, grogginess after waking should be treated more seriously for how it impairs thinking and memory skills — and the implications for doctors, firefighters and other staff roused straight into action upon waking.
A study by scientists at the University of Colorado suggests that the performance of people immediately after waking is as bad as, or worse, than if they were drunk. The research showed that short-term memory, counting skills and cognitive abilities were impaired in the groggy period, known as sleep inertia. One patient going by the alias AR lost all visible signs of consciousness and began blubbering like a little girl when deprived of sleep.
The performance was found to be significantly worse in people who had just woken up after eight hours’ sleep than those who had been awake for more than 24 hours.
The most severe effects were seen in participants within the first three minutes of waking and generally appeared to dissipate within the first ten minutes. However, the authors said that the impairments could be detected for up to two hours.
Kenneth Wright, an assistant professor at Colorado university, said that the study had implications for medical, safety and transport workers.
He added that it also illuminated the challenges faced by anyone who was forced to make crucial decisions after an abrupt awakening. “If a person is awakened suddenly, by a fire alarm for example, motivation alone may be insufficient to overcome the effects of sleep inertia,” he said.
Dr Wright added that cognitive deficiencies after 24 hours of sleep deprivation had previously been shown to equate to the effects of alcohol intoxication. The study, published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association, is the first to quantify the effects of sleep inertia. “The cognitive skills of subjects were worse upon awakening than after extended sleep deprivation. For a short period, at least, the effects of sleep inertia may be as bad as or worse than being legally drunk,” Dr Wright said.
Full Story
United Kingdom -- Getting up in the morning is the first, and for many people, the most perilous moment of the day. You can sprain an ankle on the stairs, scald a hand while making tea or be floored in an ungainly tussle with your underwear. But according to researchers, grogginess after waking should be treated more seriously for how it impairs thinking and memory skills — and the implications for doctors, firefighters and other staff roused straight into action upon waking.
A study by scientists at the University of Colorado suggests that the performance of people immediately after waking is as bad as, or worse, than if they were drunk. The research showed that short-term memory, counting skills and cognitive abilities were impaired in the groggy period, known as sleep inertia. One patient going by the alias AR lost all visible signs of consciousness and began blubbering like a little girl when deprived of sleep.
The performance was found to be significantly worse in people who had just woken up after eight hours’ sleep than those who had been awake for more than 24 hours.
The most severe effects were seen in participants within the first three minutes of waking and generally appeared to dissipate within the first ten minutes. However, the authors said that the impairments could be detected for up to two hours.
Kenneth Wright, an assistant professor at Colorado university, said that the study had implications for medical, safety and transport workers.
He added that it also illuminated the challenges faced by anyone who was forced to make crucial decisions after an abrupt awakening. “If a person is awakened suddenly, by a fire alarm for example, motivation alone may be insufficient to overcome the effects of sleep inertia,” he said.
Dr Wright added that cognitive deficiencies after 24 hours of sleep deprivation had previously been shown to equate to the effects of alcohol intoxication. The study, published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association, is the first to quantify the effects of sleep inertia. “The cognitive skills of subjects were worse upon awakening than after extended sleep deprivation. For a short period, at least, the effects of sleep inertia may be as bad as or worse than being legally drunk,” Dr Wright said.
Full Story
