Citation

Grunstein RR, Desai A, Marks G, Williams A, Barlett D, Jankelson D. Proc. Australas. Road Safety Res. Policing Educ. Conf. 2003; 7(2): 309-314.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2003, copyright holder varies, Publisher Monash University)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a breathing disorder occurring in sleep, with important nighttime and daytime consequences. This study primarily sought to examine the added effect of fatigue promoting factors (sleep deprivation and time of day) on driving performance and cognitive function in mild OSA patients. Currently licensed male drivers (25-55 years) underwent overnight polysomnography to identify the presence of mild OSA. Clear effects of sleep deprivation and time of day were found in all subjects but no significant group differences were found. Although mild OSA drivers were not different to the control group in their response to sleep deprivation or time of day influences, they were less aware of their impairment due to sleep deprivation. In one reaction time task showed greater impairment than controls at certain times of the day after sleep deprivation.