NASA Scientists Develop Biomarker To Detect Sleep Deprivation
Saanvi Araav - Sep 10, 2019
Sleep deprivation has been the cause of everything, from car crashes to medical errors. NASA researchers have created a biomarker for acute sleep loss.
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Each year in the U.S, 100 thousand people died in hospitals because of medical errors. And sleep deprivation is proven to be a significant factor that leads to those errors.
They estimated that 27 percent of people in the States has some sort of trouble in sleeping. Plus, around 164 million people suffer from issues related to sleeping each week in the country.
And these issues are becoming more and more widespread globally. Long working hour, personal life's changes, various health issues are the primary reasons behind sleep deprivation. If the issue is not handled correctly, it could become dangerous.
Sleep deprivation could be dangerous not only for you but also for others. Some said that it was one of the factors leading to the disaster of Chernobyl nuclear.
Your eyes will not lie
Recently, scientists from NASA has conducted new research which revealed that eye-movement tests could provide reliable biomarkers of one's sleep loss.
The scientists found out an easily obtainable and simple eye movement measuring range which can give us accurate information on potential neural deficits. More interesting, we could also use those measurements to detect impairments related to sleep caused by brain injury and alcohol.
The research
For the research, the team needed to set a baseline because daily schedules and sleeping habits are different for each individual. The 1st group of subjects had 8.5 hours of sleep per night without any caffeine, drugs, or alcohol. Once the participants fell asleep and experienced no disruptions, the test began.
Then they asked the subject to stay up for 28 hours in the Lab. The scientists also tested their eye-movement and visual performance occasionally, assessing how those factors change during the test.
After being sleep-deprived, the participants' stimuli were tracked with unpredictable onset, speed, direction, and starting location, their eye movements were significantly impaired.
Moreover, the research has highlighted the potential applications of this finding to help people who work in an environment which requires precise vigilance and motor function.
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