Performance upon sudden awakening.

Abstract

Abstract : In advanced weapons systems, commanders must choose between requiring alert duty personnel to remain awake at night and permitting them to sleep. Decrement in performance results from the loss of sleep, in the first instance; potential decrement after sudden awakening is a risk in the second instance. This report describes an experiment on performance after sudden awakening. The results demonstrated significant decrements upon sudden awakening and a progressive recovery over 10 minutes of intensive performance. Proficiency on the tenth minute approached but did not reach presleep levels. (Author)