It would never occur to us to go to work having drunk too much (or at least not when we are sober!). On the other hand, it is quite common for you to arrive feeling tired. Well, it seems that for the brain, it's almost the same thing! In any case, this is the conclusion of a study published in the BMJ Journal , which compared the effects of sleep deprivation and alcohol consumption on performance. When we say that we must sleep well...
39 people were involved in the study (30 working in transport and 9 in the army). Their performance was tested under sleep deprivation of up to 28 hours and a blood alcohol level of up to 0.1%. Verdict? After 17 to 19 hours of sleep deprivation, performance on certain tests (reaction, spatial memory, attention test, etc.) was worse than with a blood alcohol level of 0.05%:time reaction was 50% slower on certain exercises and the precision was much worse. Beyond 7 p.m. without sleep, performance was equivalent to a blood alcohol level of 0.1%. Reflection performance (which does not require responsiveness, therefore) was less affected, however.
If the study remains relatively small, its results warn of the effects of lack of sleep in everyday life:at work, therefore, but also on the road. Another good reason to pamper our sleep!
