Perceptions of tiredness have no bearing on performance

A new study has suggested that even if you don't feel tired, your performance could still be impacted upon if you haven't had enough sleep.

Researchers claim that despite the fact some people maintain they can function on less than seven hours sleep, if they aren't getting eight hours per night they could be unwittingly experiencing low productivity and poor health.

The study at Brigham and Women's Hospital illustrates that perception of tiredness has little bearing on the real effects sleep patterns are having on the body.

During the investigation researchers analysed data from visual search tasks completed by 12 participants over a one month period.

Dr Jeanne F Duffy, senior author of the study, commented: "The longer someone is awake, the more the ability to perform a task, in this case a visual search, is hindered, and this impact of being awake is even stronger at night."

People looking to improve their performance and increase the amount of sleep they get should take steps to get into a sleep routine, going to bed and waking up at approximately the same times daily.

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