Testing Reaction Times And Performing Mini Mental Examinations Essay

Morgan Manella in the article “Study: A Third of U.S. Adults Don’t Get Enough Sleep” argues that sleep deprivation can have a negative effect in someone’s health. Manella supports her argument by presenting statistics that shows how adults that don’t enough sleep have chronic conditions. The author’s purpose is to raise awareness so that people will sleep more often and have a better health condition.

Sleep is a beautiful thing, but people do not get enough of it. It is a time for the body to rejuvenate and process the events of the day. Sleeping is something that we seek out. Getting the recommended amount of sleep allows our body to function properly the next day. Without it, there could be detrimental consequences. The National Institute for Neurological Disorders and Stroke says that without sleep, neurons could be “polluted with byproducts”. In severe cases, people who get very little sleep often experience mood swings, hallucinations and cells do not continue to reproduce.

"Cognitive brain functions constitute the ability to work with information in a meaningful way, apply information that has already been gained, perform preferential changes, and the ability for someone to change opinions about that information" (Cognitive Brain Function, 2016). Psychology teaches the theory that cognitive brain function are formed from human memories and affect how much information is taken in by the human being. Cognitive functionality has also been associated with the function related intelligence, mind, and ability to learn. This functionality of the brain sets the limits for a human to understand, comprehend, and apply their own thoughts to an idea to absorb it into their memory storage. By being able to perform these functions, a person is able to plan and organize their thoughts accordingly.

Do not take this study lightly. Sleep is a biological need, it is vital to the human body. Deprivation will not kill anyone directly. However, it will cause personality shifts (irritations, mood swings, microsleeps), hallucinations, and paranoia. Microsleep is temporary sleep that lasts anywhere from 1 second to 30 seconds. An individual becomes unconscious for that time period and fails to process sensory input. Loss of sleep also affects concentration, memory, hunger, weight, and the immune system, all negatively. Studies show that driver fatigue is the cause of 20% of US car accidents. When the clocks ‘spring forward’ in the Spring, more accidents

Sleep is essential for optimal human function. In fact, a lack of sleep can actually affect important cognitive functions, like memory. A 2007 study added to the already substantial evidence that even acute total sleep deprivation impairs attentiveness, working memory, and reaction time in various tasks (Alhola, Polo-Kantola). One such way to further this investigation of the effects of sleep deprivation on memory is through the Memory Interference Test, or MIT. MIT is a program designed by Gaston Pfluegl, Ph.D., and Enrique Lopez, Psy. D., at UCLA to test the memory of students. Along with a memory test, the MIT also anonymously collected the physical states, mental states, and demographics of each student test subject, providing a substantial database through which students can test hypotheses, such as the connection between sleep deprivation and memory. Since the MIT requires short-term memory recall, the hours of sleep a student had before taking the test could have a noticeable effect on his or her performance. An unprecedented study this year found that sleep deprivation may actually even induce false memories, which would certainly impact a student taking the MIT because the test requires the subject to recognize images that have been previously presented to them (Frenda, et al). The hypothesis is that students who slept 8 hours before the test will perform better on the MIT than students who only slept 4 hours. The null hypothesis is that students who had adequate

The Computer Memory Interference Test (CMIT) is a test that is designed to evaluate how memory is affected by a myriad of different variables. With results from this test, scientists are able to determine if an individual has a serious memory disorder such as Alzheimer’s, or other cognitive disorders such as Autism. This test can also determine how memory is affected by different cultures and lifestyles. This study will concentrate on lifestyle; more specifically, it will focus on the effect of lack of sleep on memory. Lack of sleep is a topic that interests many scientists because sleep is a necessary tool to keep the brain functioning correctly. It is known that sleep is essential for the brain to be able to process, recall and maneuver episodic and semantic information (Alberca-Reina E, Cantero JL, & Atienza M, 2015). Many scientists have asked themselves if lack of sleep can affect an individual’s memory in their everyday life and with this, some concerns have been raised. For the average person, the effect of lack of sleep on their memory could simply be a nuisance, but for others it could be a matter of life or death. For example, individuals with demanding, high-pressure jobs usually don’t get sufficient sleep and normally these jobs are extremely important such as doctors, pilots, police officers, lawyers etc. For this reason, it is crucial to determine to what extent lack of sleep affects memory and therefore performance. Thanks to the CMIT, a

The author created fear by listing many dangerous consequences of losing sleep. Using statistics, the author named negative repercussions of lack of sleep in the daily world. For example, the author stated that many car accidents are caused by drowsy drivers.

Let’s focus on the effects of Sleep deprivation, these being poor concentration, slower reaction time, impaired judgment, and risk of falling asleep at the wheel. All awful symptoms to have when you are piloting a 2 ton piece of metal zipping by at over 50mph. Most people need 7 to 8 hours of sleep to stay healthy and if they don’t reach this goal they start to suffer from sleep deprivation. Sleep deprivation is the loss or absence of necessary sleep which eventually leads to negative health effects. Everyone needs sleep and just because you get 8 hours of sleep the day after an all-nighter that doesn’t mean you are in good health, you still have a sleep dept. A sleep dept. is when you do not get the necessary amount of sleep so the negative

Specifically cognition can be defined as the skills required to process the constant flow of information in and out of the brain (Mishra, & Gazzaley, 2014). These cognitive skills are required to carry out wide variety of tasks ranging from simple to most complex tasks such as answering telephone, decision taking, social interaction, talking and understanding language (Michelon, 2006). Cognitive skills can be further classified into several cognitive domains namely, attention, psychomotor speed, episodic memory, working memory, and executive function with each domain playing an important role (MyCognition,

Similarly, research has shown that insufficient sleep is a health problem. Sleep is increasingly recognized as important to health issues among workers and the general public. As a matter of fact sleep insufficiency has been linked to motor vehicle accidents, industrial disasters, and medical and other occupational

This report aimed to replicate Stroop's (1935) experiment. Using the repeated measures design and a sample of 20 students, differences in verbal reaction times on two tests were observed. The one-tailed hypothesis predicted that it would take longer to say words in the Cc, this is the conflicting condition where the colour of the word differs from the colour that the word describes. It was found that, using the t-test for related data, this hypothesis could be accepted as the obtained value was much greater then the critical value. It can therefore be concluded that visual interference does affect people's verbal reactions.

Inadequate sleep in the United States has been declared a “ public health epidemic” by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ("Health Epidemic," 2014, p. 1). The CDC further states that sleep deprivation may lead to “…difficulty performing daily tasks… may contribute to … hazardous outcomes. Persons experiencing sleep insufficiency are also more likely to suffer from chronic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, depression, and obesity, as well as from cancer, increased mortality, and

Firstly, we must ask ourselves the consequences of not getting enough sleep. There is the obvious first effect, which

In the article from LA Times “Sleep Deprivation Has Genetic Consequences, Study Finds,” Eryn Brown describes to us about how sleep deprivation impacts us in many ways, especially topics concerning our health. Brown emphasizes lacking the recommended amount of hours of sleep can be hazardous to our to our physical and mental well-being. When scientists did an observation of 26 volunteers that wasn’t sleeping enough, they have proven lack of sleep could possibly cause decrease new cells and tissue from forming. By having that happen, it could contribute to poor health, illnesses, and so on. One example of the effects of not getting adequate amount of sleep is when you can be at work or school and you are unable to focus on the topic/discussion that’s occurring, and even if you can’t stay awake in general. That’s just one of the many effects that lack of sleep can have on you. Another example going back to the poor health situation, people who don’t get the sufficient hours of sleep have a higher risk of diabetes, stroke, and even high blood pressure, among other illnesses. Therefore, this article is effective and scientifically accurate, because all the facts have been proven through thorough examination.

Research from sleep studies show that people who are sleep deprived are more irritable and have a lack of concentration and creativity. This diminished capacity means a person is more prone to making mistakes at school, work or even when engaging with other people. Additionally, one could put lives at risk due to a slower reaction time when driving a car. Or, they could risk the lives of others while performing this simplest of everyday tasks. Consider this: there is a reason why the U.S. Department of Transportation changed its’ industry standards to regulate the hours of sleep required for truck drivers all over this country.