New study highlights impact of poor sleep on mental performance

Researchers have revealed new insights into the ways in which sleep deprivation can impair the normal functioning of brain cells.

The University of California – Los Angeles study assessed the brain patterns of a group of patients who had electrodes implanted to analyse their mental activity as they viewed a series of images.

Patients were asked to categorise the images as fast as possible while the electrodes recorded the firing of nearly 1,500 single brain cells – mostly in the temporal lobe, which regulates visual perception and memory.

Performing the task was shown to become more challenging as the patients grew sleepier, as the lack of sleep interfered with the neurons' ability to encode information and translate visual input into conscious thought.

The report authors suggested that these results suggest society should change its perceptions of the risks of sleep deprivation.

Senior author Dr Itzhak Fried, professor of neurosurgery at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California – Los Angeles and Tel Aviv University, said: "Inadequate sleep exerts a similar influence on our brain as drinking too much. Yet no legal or medical standards exist for identifying overtired drivers on the road the same way we target drunk drivers."

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