Occup Environ Med 2000;57:649-655 ( October )

Moderate sleep deprivation produces impairments in cognitive and motor performance equivalent to legally prescribed levels of alcohol intoxication

A M Williamson^a, Anne-Marie Feyer^b

^a School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia, ^b New Zealand Occupational and Environmental Health Research Centre, Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand

Correspondence to: Dr A M Williamson a.williamson{at}unsw.edu.au

Accepted 15 June 2000

OBJECTIVESTo compare the relative effects on performance of sleep deprivation and alcohol.
METHODSPerformance effects were studied in the same subjects over a period of 28 hours of sleep deprivation and after measured doses of alcohol up to about 0.1% blood alcohol concentration (BAC). There were 39 subjects, 30 employees from the transport industry and nine from the army.
RESULTSAfter 17-19 hours without sleep, corresponding to 2230 and 0100, performance on some tests was equivalent or worse than that at a BAC of 0.05%. Response speeds were up to 50% slower for some tests and accuracy measures were significantly poorer than at this level of alcohol. After longer periods without sleep, performance reached levels equivalent to the maximum alcohol dose given to subjects (BAC of 0.1%).
CONCLUSIONSThese findings reinforce the evidence that the fatigue of sleep deprivation is an important factor likely to compromise performance of speed and accuracy of the kind needed for safety on the road and in other industrial settings.


Keywords: sleep deprivation; performance; alcohol

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© 2000 by Occupational and Environmental Medicine
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