Human Systems Integration Division researchers Leland Stone and Erin Flynn Evans were featured in a Journal of Physiology "Physiology Short" to talk about their recent article titled "Distinct pattern of oculomotor impairment associated with acute sleep loss and circadian misalignment".
Their research has shown that inadequate sleep and irregular work schedules have adverse consequences for individual health and well‐being, ultimately leading to enormous economic and safety implications for society as a whole. In particular, they have demonstrated that visual motion processing and coordinated eye movements are significantly impaired when performed after sleep loss and during the biological night, and is likely contributing to human error and accidents. Unfortunately, affected individuals are often unaware of their performance deficits, so there is a need for non‐invasive, objective indicators of mild, yet potentially unsafe, impairment due to disrupted sleep or biological rhythms. Their findings show that a set of eye‐movement measures can be used to provide sensitive and reliable indicators of such mild impairments.
To see the Journal of Physiology video short, please visit-
https://vimeo.com/395481401
To learn more about the study or to download the journal article, please visit-
https://physoc.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1113/JP277779