A microsleep is a sudden, temporary episode of sleep or drowsiness lasting as little as a few seconds, during which a person fails to respond to some sensory input and becomes unconscious, typically losing and then regaining awareness after a brief and often unwarned lapse, or shifting suddenly between wakefulness and sleep. Behaviorally it can show as drooping eyes, slow eyelid closure and head nodding, and on an electroencephalogram it typically appears as a shift in which 4 to 7 Hz theta wave activity replaces the 8 to 13 Hz alpha wave rhythm normally seen while awake.
Facts
Core ClaimA microsleep is a sudden temporary episode of sleep or drowsiness which may last for a few seconds where an individual fails to respond to some arbitrary sensory input and becomes unconscious. 1 Classification
Type of Phenomenon Sources
1. Wikipedia: Microsleep
Lead paragraph
A microsleep is a sudden temporary episode of sleep or drowsiness which may last for a few seconds where an individual fails to respond to some arbitrary sensory input and becomes unconscious.
In Group: Sleep-Wake Transition States, Lead
Episodes of microsleep occur when an individual loses and regains awareness after a brief lapse in consciousness, often without warning, or when there are sudden shifts between states of wakefulness and sleep.
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