Sleep deficiency an outset of wrong decisions–study

LOS ANGELES: Poor sleep can be dangerous for those whose jobs require quick reactions, according to a study by researchers at the University of Texas at Austin. The researchers found a link between sleep deprivation and information-integration, a process that relies heavily on instantaneous, gut-feeling decisions.

Sleep-deprived people may put themselves and others at risk when they need to make split-second decisions, according to the study, in which 49 US military cadets participated.

The cadets performed information-integration tasks twice—once when they were well-rested and once while they were sleep-deprived. The results showed that moderate sleep deprivation can cause an overall immediate loss of information-integration thought processes, according to the study published in the November issue of Sleep.

Accuracy on the information-integration tasks declined by 2.4 percent (73.1 percent to 70.7 percent) when cadets were sleep-deprived, and improved by 4.3 percent (74 percent to 78.3 percent) when they were well-rested, the researchers found.

“It’s important to understand this domain of procedural learning because information-integration—the fast and accurate strategy—is critical in situations when soldiers need to make split-second decisions on whether a potential target is an enemy soldier, a civilian or one of their own,” said Todd Maddox, a psychology professor who took part in the study.

The ability to make split-second decisions was crucial in a number of other high-pressure professions, including firefighters and police officers, the study noted. -XINHUA