Many people who go out after work during the week often try to catch up on missed sleeping time at the weekend. However the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine has found that this is not enough recovery time.
The researchers at the university conducted a laboratory study to analyse the results of sleep deprivation.
Participants were allowed to have two nights of ten hours in bed. They were then restricted to sleeping pattern between the hours of 4am and 8am for the next five nights. After that they were each allowed a recovery sleep of up to ten hours.
Another group of individuals were each allowed to have ten hours sleep every night.
The two groups were then compared in a selection of tests on attention span and reaction times.
The results from the tests clearly revealed that the more sleep a person has, the better they will do.
Dr David Dinges, the study leader, said, ‘Lifestyles that involve chronic sleep restriction during the working week will increase the likelihood of loss of alertness and increased errors.’
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