A new quantitative method for assessing sleepiness: The alpha attenuation test

Abstract

Abstract Sleepiness interferes with the ability of night-workers and shiftworkers to safely and effectively perform their jobs, and has been increasingly recognized as a major cause of industrial and transportation accidents. Current methods for the assessment of physiological sleepiness levels, such as the Multiple Sleep Latency Test (MSLT) have several limitations and are particularly impractical in field or occupational studies. In this study, the effectiveness of the Alpha Attenuation Test (AAT) for the quantification of sleepiness has been evaluated and compared to the MSLT during a 40-h sleep deprivation protocol. The AAT, a 12-min eye closed/open protocol, is a quantitative method based on the fact that EEG alpha (8-12 Hz) activity tends to increase with eyes open as individuals get sleepier, while it decreases with eyes closed. In this validation study, the AAT proved to be a sensitive measure of sleepiness induced by sleep deprivation, and it also correlated well with the MSLT. Relative to the MS...