Microsleep

A microsleep is a period of sleep lasting a few seconds. It often occurs as a result of a sleep debt or mental fatigue. Microsleep becomes extremely dangerous when it occurs during situations when continual alertness is demanded, such as driving a motor vehicle.

There is little agreement on how best to identify microsleep episodes. Some experts define microsleep according to behavioural criteria (head nods, drooping eyelids, etc.), while others rely on EEG markers, which are known to be weakly correlated with the behavioural features of sleep.

See also

• Waterfall train disaster

References

• Ogilvie RD. The process of falling asleep. Sleep Med Rev 5: 247-270, 2001.