title: Age, performance and sleep deprivation.
abstract: Young subjects are frequently involved in sleep-related accidents. They could be more affected than older drivers by sleep loss and therefore worsen their driving skills quicker, or have a different perception of their level of impairment. To test these hypotheses we studied variations of reaction time (RT), a fundamental prerequisite for safe performing, as measured by lapses, i.e. responses > or = 500 ms and self-assessment of performance and sleepiness after a night awake and after a night asleep in a balanced crossover design in young versus older healthy subjects. Ten young (20-25 years old) and 10 older volunteers (52-63 years old) were tested with and without 24 h of sleep deprivation. Without sleep deprivation, RTs were slower in older subjects than in the younger ones. However, after sleep deprivation, the RTs of young subjects increased while that of the older subjects remained almost unaffected. Sleepiness and self-perception of performance were equally affected in both age groups showing different perception of performance in the age groups. Our findings are discussed in terms of vulnerability to sleep-related accidents.
authors.affiliation: Clinique du sommeil, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Pellegrin, Bordeaux, France. pierrephillip@compuserve.com
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Philip
authors.forename: Jacques
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Taillard
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sagaspe
authors.forename: Cédric
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Valtat
authors.forename: Montserrat
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sanchez-Ortuno
authors.forename: Nicholas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Moore
authors.forename: André
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Charles
authors.forename: Bernard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bioulac
mesh_terms: D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000328:Adult; D001334:Automobile Driving / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006970:Disorders of Excessive Somnolence / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005221:Fatigue / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011930:Reaction Time; D012892:Sleep Deprivation / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires