Chronic Sleep Loss Linked to Memory Loss
It seems that sleep loss is more serious that we thought. While we all know that chronic sleep loss does affect the memory, it seems that reflex action and other brain function can severely be affected as well. A study over at the Harvard Medical School can attest to that when they put nine volunteers on a specialized sleep-wake schedule made of 33 hours of wakefulness and 10 hours of sleep.
Using a series of tests, the researchers measured the subjects’ reflexes, motor skills, memory, decision making, and other brain functions. The results have yielded conclusions that may overturn commonly held misconceptions about sleep. Several weeks into the study, the subjects’ average reaction time at night had slowed from a quarter of a second to almost four seconds.
(Source) The Crimson
