Photo: CNN.com
New research into the effects of sleep deprivation on people is promising a blood test that could potentially be used by the police to determine when drivers are too tired to get behind the wheel.
The study is still in its initial stages, but first results are promising. They’ve been published in the journal Sleep, according to The Sun.
The study is conducted by scientists at the Sleep Research Center at the University of Surrey and includes 36 participants, all of them healthy adults. Some of them have been asked to stay awake for as many as 40 hours, and then had blood samples taken.
Each sample was analyzed for changes in thousands of genes. The computer program used by scientists identified 68 genes that may suffer modifications in case of sleep deprivation. They helped scientists say whether a blood sample came from a rested person or a sleep-deprived one with an accuracy of 92 percent.
Missing out on a good night’s sleep is believed to be one of the main causes of accidents both in the UK and worldwide, with new studies showing that missing even 2 hours of sleep at night can double the risks of a crash. This new research holds the promise of helping police to be able to identify tired drivers, much in the manner they do with drunken ones.
“It is difficult to independently assess how much sleep a person has had,” researcher Dr. Emma Laing says of the findings. “This makes it hard for the police to know if drivers were fit to drive, or for employers to know if staff are fit for work.”
Again, this is just the beginning of the road, and even so, the study might not amount to much in the end. It is, however, a promising first step in the right direction.
The study is conducted by scientists at the Sleep Research Center at the University of Surrey and includes 36 participants, all of them healthy adults. Some of them have been asked to stay awake for as many as 40 hours, and then had blood samples taken.
Each sample was analyzed for changes in thousands of genes. The computer program used by scientists identified 68 genes that may suffer modifications in case of sleep deprivation. They helped scientists say whether a blood sample came from a rested person or a sleep-deprived one with an accuracy of 92 percent.
Missing out on a good night’s sleep is believed to be one of the main causes of accidents both in the UK and worldwide, with new studies showing that missing even 2 hours of sleep at night can double the risks of a crash. This new research holds the promise of helping police to be able to identify tired drivers, much in the manner they do with drunken ones.
“It is difficult to independently assess how much sleep a person has had,” researcher Dr. Emma Laing says of the findings. “This makes it hard for the police to know if drivers were fit to drive, or for employers to know if staff are fit for work.”
Again, this is just the beginning of the road, and even so, the study might not amount to much in the end. It is, however, a promising first step in the right direction.
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