*** Welcome to piglix ***

Sleep inertia


Sleep inertia is a physiological state characterised by a decline in motor dexterity and a subjective feeling of immediately following an abrupt awakening. The impaired alertness may interfere with the ability to perform mental or physical tasks. Sleep inertia can also refer to the tendency of a person wanting to return to sleep.

Sleep inertia occurs normally after awakening. Upon awakening in the morning, subjective alertness and mental performance are significantly impaired. Morning sleep inertia may take several hours to dissipate. In the majority of cases, morning sleep inertia is experienced for 15 to 30 minutes after waking.

Studies by the Human Factors Division at NASA Ames Research Center have shown that a variety of factors influence the severity and duration of sleep inertia. These include:

Reaction time performance is directly related to sleep stage at awakening; persons awakened during the deepest sleep have the slowest reaction times.

Testing of mental arithmetic capability after one- and two hour naps at all times of day and night and after varying amounts of sleep and sleep deprivation demonstrated an inertia characterized by social interaction but with simultaneous performance impairment, reverie and misjudgment of sleepiness.

One theory is that sleep inertia is caused by the build-up of adenosine in the brain during NREM sleep. Adenosine then binds to receptors, and feelings of tiredness result. Sleep inertia may also be the result of lower levels of glucose being available than during wakefulness - The gradual dissipation of sleep inertia could be attributed to the effects of Glucagon on Glycogen shortly after awakening, and the gradual increase in blood glucose to a normal level, assisted and achieved by eating as well.


...
Wikipedia

...