Key result
Sustained wakefulness of 24 hours caused greater impairment than a BAC of 0.05% on the speed of continuous attention, memory, and learning, and on the accuracy of complex matching.
Why the study?
Does sustained wakefulness of 24 hours cause similar cognitive impairment to a blood alcohol concentration of 0.05%?
Does sustained wakefulness of 24 hours cause similar cognitive impairment to a blood alcohol concentration of 0.05%?
Sustained wakefulness of 24 hours produces cognitive impairments that are qualitatively similar to, and in some domains worse than, a blood alcohol concentration of 0.05%.
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Alerts to cognitive risks exceeding 0.05% BAC after sustained wakefulness; leaves open validation in real-world clinical and occupational settings.
Falleti et al. (2003) studied this question. Sustained wakefulness of 24 h vs. Blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.05% was evaluated on Cognitive performance (CogState battery). Sustained wakefulness of 24 hours caused greater impairment than a BAC of 0.05% on the speed of continuous attention, memory, and learning, and on the accuracy of complex matching.
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