I am wondering if another factor may also be at play, and that is to what extend chronic sleep deprivation is playing a role in reaction time and g.
I think that changes to natural sleep patterns from the era before electrical light to today, and the tendency of moderns to get significantly lower amounts of sleep be it due to work or digital distractions may also play a role.
see http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK19961/
see http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/lost-sleep-could-cause-permanent-damage-to-brain-cells-scientists-warn-9201485.html
@NF - I agree that sleep deprivation and disruption has many significant but underestimated psychological effects (it is a theme of my Psychiatry book from 2000 - http://www.hedweb.com/bgcharlton/psychhuman.html) - but sleep problems should not affect simple reaction times, so long as the person was alert enough for the few minutes needed to do the tests.
I am wondering if another factor may also be at play, and that is to what extend chronic sleep deprivation is playing a role in reaction time and g.
ReplyDeleteI think that changes to natural sleep patterns from the era before electrical light to today, and the tendency of moderns to get significantly lower amounts of sleep be it due to work or digital distractions may also play a role.
see http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK19961/
see http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/lost-sleep-could-cause-permanent-damage-to-brain-cells-scientists-warn-9201485.html
@NF - I agree that sleep deprivation and disruption has many significant but underestimated psychological effects (it is a theme of my Psychiatry book from 2000 - http://www.hedweb.com/bgcharlton/psychhuman.html) - but sleep problems should not affect simple reaction times, so long as the person was alert enough for the few minutes needed to do the tests.
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