Microsleep
Did you know you could be asleep for a few seconds and never realize it. Scientist call
these microsleeps. When your really tired and force yourself to stay awake, you brain
will sneak in little naps. They usually last for 2-3 seconds but can last for 30 seconds
or more. The frightening thing is that you don't realize that your were asleep. Researches
observed that drivers could sleep for up to 8 seconds without realizing it. That's plenty of
time to drift out of your lane, and crash into a tree, a sign, or an oncoming car. The video
to the right is a public service announcement featuring Dr. Karl Kruszelnicki
a famous TV scientist in Australia.
Perhaps the most frightening thing about microsleeps is that they happen
without you ever being aware of it. The video to the right demonstrates this.
The subject dozes off while eating dinner. When she's woken up by her kids,
the first thing says is that she wasn't asleep. If you fall asleep during dinner
probably the worst thing that will happen is some post a video of the incident
on YouTube. Dozing off while driving can be much worse.
During a microsleep, you stop responding to events around you. You brain has,
in some sense, turned its self off for a few moments. If nothing happens during
a microsleep eposide, you'll probably make it through OK. But if something
happens, there is a curve in the road, the car in front of you breaks, or your
car drifts of out its lane, you will never notice it. You just keep driving
straight.
So how do you know if you've had a microsleep, or if your are going to
have one. You can't. We've observed that people often wake up from a microsleep
with a jerk of the head. If you've ever been driving when you were really
tired and felt your head jerk, chances are you were just asleep. The only
reason you didn't crash just then was that the road you were on was straight.
As soon as you feel any of the signs of
drowsiness like heavy eye lids, pull over for a nap. It could save your
life.
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