Brain Impairment Linked to Fatigue

Imagine sleeping only four hours and going to take an important test. You had studied for the test all week and knew that you had everything memorized. The test comes and you draw a blank. Your mind seems to not want to work properly and you can't think of the answers.

As a result, you start to stress out more and become frustrated with the whole thing. You know that you totally bombed the test and do not know why. The answer is in the little amount of sleep that you had the night before. It has been studied that the more amount of sleep you have, the better your brain will operate.

Sleep deprivation can not only lead to poor health, it also affects concentration, problem-solving skills, memory and mood. The reason you failed the test is because you did not get enough sleep. Your brain was paying you back for not getting the proper amount of sleep.

The Sleep Disorders Center at New York Methodist Hospital in Brooklyn studied this phenomenon. Basically, anything that disturbs the quality of sleep can have long-term consequences for both body and mind. Lack of sleep can have cognitive and physical effects similar to those experienced when indulging in large amounts of alcohol.

Studies have shown that the performance of someone who has been awake for 17 hours is similar to someone who is registering a .005 percent alcohol level. That is the equivalent to someone having nearly two drinks! Brain fatigue is something people should take very serious.

The fatigue has led to nearly 1,500 deaths a year in car accidents. Too many people believe that they are getting enough sleep and get behind the wheel of a car. What they fail to realize is that their driving abilities are as impaired as someone who has been drinking. This is why it is incredibly important to take in the proper amount of sleep.