Health, UK (Commonwealth Union) – A novel blood test capable of accurately detecting 24-hour sleep deprivation has been pioneered by the University of Birmingham and Monash University.
This degree of sleep deficiency significantly heightens the risk of severe injury or even fatality in environments reliant on safety protocols.
Appearing in the Science Advances, this biomarker harnesses a blend of indicators present in the blood of healthy volunteers. Together, these markers effectively forecast instances where study participants had remained awake for over 24 hours in controlled laboratory settings.
The biomarker demonstrated a remarkable 99.2 percent accuracy in discerning individuals who had been sleepless for a full day when compared against their own well-rested baseline. Even when assessed independently, akin to a diagnostic blood test, its accuracy stood at 89.1 percent, a notably high figure.
Given that approximately 20 percent of global road accidents stem from sleep deprivation, researchers anticipate that this breakthrough could pave the way for swift and straightforward identification of sleep-deprived drivers. Moreover, they pointed out there is potential for the biomarker’s adaptation in other contexts where sleep deficiency poses grave risks, particularly in safety-sensitive workplaces.
Professor Clare Anderson, formerly affiliated with the Monash University School of Psychological Sciences and Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, spearheaded the research. At present she is in the position of Professor of Sleep and Circadian Science for the University of Birmingham.
Professor Anderson indicated that the discovery is incredibly thrilling for sleep researchers and has the potential to revolutionize how we approach health and safety concerns associated with inadequate sleep. She emphasized however that although further investigation is necessary, this marks a promising initial advancement.
“There is strong evidence that less than five hours’ sleep is associated with unsafe driving, but driving after 24 hours awake, which is what we detected here, would be at least comparable to more than double the Australian legal limit of alcohol performance wise.”
Researchers of the study pointed out that the test could potentially prove valuable for forensic applications in the future, although additional validation is necessary.
Dr. Katy Jeppe, the primary author and a member of the Monash Proteomics and Metabolomics Platform, formerly associated with the School of Psychological Sciences, emphasized the challenge of estimating the timeline for the test’s adaptation for post-accident usage.
Dr. Jeppe pointed out that the next phase involves assessing its performance in less controlled settings, potentially under forensic conditions, especially if it is to serve as evidence in accidents involving drowsy driving.
“Given its blood, the test is more limited in a roadside context, but future work could examine whether our metabolites, and therefore the biomarker, are evident in saliva or breath.”
This biomarker for sleep deprivation is designed to detect periods of wakefulness lasting 24 hours or more, with sensitivity extending to as little as 18 hours awake. While the potential for developing a biomarker specifically targeting limited sleep from the previous night exists, it necessitates additional research to integrate time since sleep with sleep quantity for accurate predictions, according to the researchers of the study.
Dr. Jeppe noted, that significant additional research would be required should regulations change to implement a sleep deprivation test on roads or in workplaces. Dr. Jeppe also pointed out that this includes further validating biomarkers and determining safe thresholds for sleep to mitigate and recover from impairment, alongside navigating the intricate legal procedures involved.
“A biomarker for limited sleep over the previous night could be developed, and others have made progress in this respect (Depner et al.).”
Researchers of the study further indicated that lack of sleep can lead to dire outcomes in other safety-sensitive professions. Notable disasters like the Chernobyl nuclear reactor meltdown and the Challenger space shuttle tragedy are believed to have been partly influenced by human error stemming from fatigue.
Professor Anderson also indicated that in situations where errors can result in fatal consequences, there is an urgent need for objective tests that can identify individuals at risk of compromising their own safety or that of others.
“Alcohol testing was a game changer for reducing road crashes and associated serious injuries and fatalities, and it is possible that we can achieve the same with fatigue. But much work is still required to meet this goal.”
The tests could also serve as a personal indicator possibly for those engaged in night shifts or individuals engaged lengthy shifts with a lot of sleep deprivation.
