Microsleeps
10 Jun, 2010
This programme discusses what microsleeps are, how they are detected and the problems they can cause. Research is being carried out at the University of Otago (Christchurch) and at the Van der Veer Institute for Parkinson’s and Brain Research.
Listen to audio: Microsleeps
Duration: 13:03
If you have ever experienced that drowsy feeling after a big lunch or fought to stay awake during a class, lecture or boring meeting, you may have had an episode called a microsleep. In technical terms, this is a behavioural indicator where a person becomes totally unresponsive to stimuli for a period of between 1 and 15 seconds. This drowsiness can have fatal consequences for someone driving a car, operating machinery or relying on total concentration to safely complete a task (such as an air traffic controller).
Microsleeps are not just the domain of the sleep-deprived. Normal healthy people can have up to 40 of these events in an hour. A car travelling at 100 kph can go a long way during a driver’s 2-second microsleep. The information gathered as a result of this research could help to avoid a potentially dangerous situation from occurring.
Useful links
Measuring microsleeps with EEG
Dr Richard Jones from the Van der Veer Institute for Parkinson’s & Brain Research talks about using EEG to measure microsleeps.
www.sciencelearn.org.nz/Contexts/.../Measuring-microsleeps-with-EEG
Programme details: Out Changing World
