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https://hdl.handle.net/2440/3158
Type: | Journal article |
Title: | The Maintenance of Wakefulness Test in normal healthy subjects |
Author: | Banks, S. Barnes, M. Tarquinio, N. Pierce, R. Lack, L. McEvoy, R. |
Citation: | Sleep, 2004; 27(4):799-802 |
Publisher: | Amer Academy Sleep Medicine |
Issue Date: | 2004 |
ISSN: | 0161-8105 1550-9109 |
Statement of Responsibility: | Siobhan Banks; Maree Barnes; Natalie Tarquinio; Robert J. Pierce; Leon C. Lack; R. Doug McEvoy |
Abstract: | Study Objectives: The Maintenance of Wakefulness Test (MWT) examines an individual’s ability to stay awake in an environment of decreased sensory stimulation. Only 1 previous study has systematically examined the MWT in normal healthy subjects. Setting: Sleep disorders unit laboratory Participants and Design: 31 subjects (mean age 48.5 years, SD 9.6; 8 women) were randomly selected via the telephone directory within a 30-km radius of the test centers. They answered a general screen for health complaints (respiratory, cardiovascular, and psychiatric disorders) and sleep difficulties (snoring). Interventions: N/A.Measurements and Results: Overnight polysomnography and a 40-minute MWT the following day were performed on all subjects. Mean sleep latency to the first epoch of unequivocal sleep during the 40-minute trial MWT was 36.9 ± 5.4 (SD) minutes. The lower normal limit, defined as 2 SD below the mean, was therefore 26.1 minutes. Mean sleep latency for the first 20 minutes of the trial (with sleep latency defined as time to the first appearance of 1 epoch of stage 1 sleep or a 10-second microsleep) was 18.6 ± 2.3 minutes, with a lower normal limit of 14.0 minutes. Conclusions: The mean results are consistent with previously published normative data. However, the SDs found in this study are smaller, and, thus, the lower normal limit suggested here is 4 to 6 minutes longer. The subjects in this study were randomly selected from the general population and may, therefore, be a truer representation of the normal population than in the previous study in which subjects were recruited via hospital advertisements and word of mouth. |
Keywords: | Humans Polysomnography Body Mass Index Wakefulness Health Status Middle Aged Female Male |
Appears in Collections: | Aurora harvest 2 Molecular and Biomedical Science publications |
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