Sleep inertia is a physiological state characterised by a decline in motor dexterity and a subjective feeling of grogginess, 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 to want to return to sleeping. Typically, sleep inertia lasts up to 3 hours for a night wake up and up to 90 minutes for a day wake up...
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Sleep inertia is a physiological state characterised by a decline in motor dexterity and a subjective feeling of grogginess, 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 to want to return to sleeping. Typically, sleep inertia lasts up to 3 hours for a night wake up and up to 90 minutes for a day wake up. If the subject is awakened due to a perceived danger, however, the duration of sleep inertia is reduced to only a few seconds.
NASA studies have shown that a variety of factors influence the severity and duration of sleep inertia. These include:
According to Patrick Sherry, who specializes in rail safety, sleep inertia can be more severe and last longer when a nap follows a prolonged period of wakefulness or an accumulated sleep debt. Sleep inertia can often be reversed by activity and noise as well as caffeine. Reaction time performance is...
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