Detecting sleep impairment through eye movement

Detecting sleep impairment through eye movement Today’s Video of the Day from The Physiological Society describes the development of new, simple testing for sleep-related impairment based on a range of eye movements. 

When humans operate on a lack of sleep, they are often unaware when they are dangerously affected, yet sleep deprivation is believed to play a role in up to 30% of all motor vehicle crashes.

“There are significant safety ramifications for workers who may be performing tasks that require precise visual coordination of one’s actions when sleep deprived or during night shifts,” said study senior author Lee Stone.

“By looking at a wide variety of components of human eye movements, we could not only detect sleepiness but also distinguish it from other factors, such as alcohol use or brain injury, that we have previously shown cause subtly different deficits in eye movements.” As seen above Detecting sleep impairment through eye movement Rapid eye movement (REM): During the final stage in the sleep cycle, your brain becomes more active and dreams occur. Your brain is processing information and storing long-term memories. This cycle repeats every 90 to 110 minutes. As sleep progresses, REM cycles increase in length.

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By Chrissy Sexton, Earth.com Staff Writer

Video Credit: The Physiological Society and The Journal of Physiology