Researchers develop blood-based markers to detect sleep deprivation
In a study published in the Journal Science Advances, researchers from Monash University, in Australia, and the University of Birmingham, in the UK have developed a blood test that can accurately detect when someone has not slept for 24 hours.
Sleep deprivation can adversely affect an individual's health by weakening the immune system, leading to increased susceptibility to illnesses. It also impairs cognitive function, memory, and decision-making abilities, which can affect performance at work and increase the risk of accidents.
Increased level of sleep deprivation increases the risk of serious injury or fatality in safety-critical situations. The biomarker developed used a combination of markers found in the blood of healthy volunteers. Together, these markers accurately predicted when the study volunteers had been awake for more than 24 hours under controlled laboratory conditions.
The biomarker accurately detects 24-hour wakefulness with 99.2% accuracy when compared to well-rested samples. Alone, it maintains high accuracy at 89.1%. This innovation holds potential for various safety-critical environments, mitigating risks of accidents due to sleep deprivation.
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