If you’re not getting enough sleep, it may be significantly affecting your cognitive function. In fact, new research shows that sleep deprivation creates significant lapses in attention and placekeeping errors. Placekeeping errors are mistakes following complex procedures.
How bad is sleep deprivation?
A team of scientists from Michigan State University’s Sleep and Learning Lab wanted to learn how a lack of sleep can affect attention and higher order cognitive function.
They recruited 128 men and women who all took two tests. The first test was to measure reaction time. The second test measured their placekeeping abilities by having them follow directions to complete a task despite repeated interruptions.
Then the researchers split the volunteers into two groups:
- Group 1 stayed in the lab all night and got no sleep.
- Group 2 went home and slept.
The next morning, all the volunteers were asked to repeat the tasks to compare their performance to the previous day’s results. As you can guess, those who were sleep deprived has significant difficulties.
“Our research showed that sleep deprivation doubles the odds of making placekeeping errors and triples the number of lapses in attention, which is startling,” says Kimberly Fenn, the study’s co-author. “Sleep deprived individuals need to exercise caution in absolutely everything that they do and simply can’t trust that they won’t make costly errors. Oftentimes—like when behind the wheel of a car—these errors can have tragic consequences.”
Tips for better sleep
Both sleep quality and quantity matter, so if you’re having trouble getting a good night’s sleep, consider these tips:
- Get a new mattress. A good quality mattress typically lasts for 9 to 10 years. If yours is older, or a lower quality brand, it may be time to upgrade.
- Skip the alcohol before bed. Although alcohol is a sedative that may help you fall asleep, it actually increases your chances of waking up at night. It can also make sleep apnea and snoring worse.
- Avoid using technology before you go to sleep.
