The Dangers of Sleep Deprivation
Well all know that sleep deprivation can make it difficult to concentrate. Now researchers have shown that it can also make it difficult to act instinctively - with possibly disastrous consequences.
Professors Todd Maddox and David Schyner of The University of Texas at Austin have found that lack of sleep reduces the ability to make automatic responses accurately. Specifically the research found that:
This means that instead of reacting automatically automatically people have to stop and think. Even a short delay in decision making - or, worse, a wrong decision made quickly - can be devastating in some fields such as fire fighting or police work.
Or driving.
Professors Todd Maddox and David Schyner of The University of Texas at Austin have found that lack of sleep reduces the ability to make automatic responses accurately. Specifically the research found that:
...moderate sleep deprivation causes some people to shift from a faster and more accurate process of information categorization (information-integration) to a more controlled, explicit process (rule-based), resulting in negative effects on performance.
This means that instead of reacting automatically automatically people have to stop and think. Even a short delay in decision making - or, worse, a wrong decision made quickly - can be devastating in some fields such as fire fighting or police work.
Or driving.
Labels: research
