Editing Microsleep (section)

{{Short description|Temporary episode of sleep or drowsiness}}
[[Image:eeg alpha.svg|thumb|Example of an EEG alpha wave]]
[[Image:eeg theta.svg|thumb|Example of an EEG theta wave]]

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.<ref name=ICSD>[[International Classification of Sleep Disorders]], {{cite book |url=http://www.esst.org/adds/ICSD.pdf |title=Diagnostic and Coding Manual |access-date=2011-07-26 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726034931/http://www.esst.org/adds/ICSD.pdf |archive-date=2011-07-26 }}, page 343</ref><ref name=Brain>Poudel, G. R., Innes, C. R., Bones, P. J., Watts, R., & Jones, R. D. (2012) Losing the struggle to stay awake: Divergent thalamic and cortical activity during microsleeps. Human Brain  Mapping: 00:000-000</ref> 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. In behavioural terms, microsleeps may manifest as droopy eyes, slow eyelid-closure, and head nodding.<ref name=Brain /> In electrical terms, microsleeps are often classified as a shift in [[electroencephalography]] (EEG) during which 4–7&nbsp;Hz ([[theta wave]]) activity replaces the waking 8–13&nbsp;Hz ([[alpha wave]]) background rhythm.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://drivingassessment.uiowa.edu/DA2005/PDF/04_AmitPaul_LBoyleformat.pdf |title=Variability of driving performance during microsleeps |access-date=2008-02-10 |last=Paul |first=Amit |author2=Linda Ng Boyle |author3=Jon Tippin |author4=Matthew Rizzo |year=2005 |work=Proceedings of the Third International Driving Symposium on Human Factors in Driver Assessment, Training and Vehicle Design |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141009191948/http://drivingassessment.uiowa.edu/DA2005/PDF/04_AmitPaul_LBoyleformat.pdf |archive-date=2014-10-09 |url-status=dead }}</ref>