Editing Microsleep (section)

==Background and significance==
[[File:Microsleep.png|thumb|right|Eyelid closed, demonstrating microsleep event according to eye-video test]]
[[File:LKW Auffahrunfall 16122008 1.jpg|thumb|[[Traffic collision]], a possible consequence of microsleep]]

With over 1,550 fatalities and 40,000 nonfatal injuries occurring annually in the United States alone as a result of drowsy driving, sleep loss has become a public health problem.<ref name="CDC">Insufficient Sleep Is a Public Health Epidemic. https://www.cdc.gov/features/dssleep/</ref><ref>US Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, National Center on Sleep Disorders Research, National Heart Lung and Blood Institute. Drowsy driving and automobile crashes [National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Web Site]. Available at http://www.nhtsa.gov/people/injury/drowsy_driving1/Drowsy.html#NCSDR/NHTSAExternal Web Site Icon Accessed February 10, 2011.</ref> When experiencing microsleeps while driving an automobile, from the perspective of the driver, they are driving a car, and then suddenly realize that several seconds have passed by unnoticed. It is not obvious to the driver that they were asleep during those missing seconds, although this is in fact what happened.<ref name="sleepfoundation.org">{{Cite web |date=2021-08-26 |title=Microsleep: Symptoms, Causes, and Safety Risks |url=https://www.sleepfoundation.org/how-sleep-works/microsleep |access-date=2022-06-28 |website=Sleep Foundation |language=en}}</ref> The sleeping driver is at very high risk for having a collision during a microsleep episode.<ref>{{cite conference|title=CarSafe app: alerting drowsy and distracted drivers using dual cameras on smartphones|last1=You|first1=Chuang-Wen|last2=Lane|first2=Nicholas D.|last3=Chen|first3=Fanglin|last4=Wang|first4=Rui|last5=Chen|first5=Zhenyu|last6=Bao|first6=Thomas J.|last7=Montes-de-Oca|first7=Martha|last8=Cheng|first8=Yuting|last9=Lin|first9=Mu|last10=Torresani|first10=Lorenzo|last11=Campbell|first11=Andrew T.|conference=International Conference on Mobile Systems, Applications, and Services|date=June 25–28, 2013|page=14|doi=10.1145/2462456.2465428}}</ref>

Historically, many accidents and catastrophes have resulted from microsleep episodes in these circumstances.<ref name="pmid17239659">{{cite journal |vauthors=Blaivas AJ, Patel R, Hom D, Antigua K, Ashtyani H |title=Quantifying microsleep to help assess subjective sleepiness |journal=[[Sleep Medicine Reviews]] |volume=8 |issue=2 |pages=156–9 |year=2007 |pmid=17239659 |doi=10.1016/j.sleep.2006.06.011 }}</ref> For example, a microsleep episode is claimed to have been one factor contributing to the [[Waterfall rail accident]] in 2003; the [[Train driver|driver]] had a heart attack, and the [[Conductor (rail)|guard]] who should have reacted to the train's increasing speed is said by his defender to have microslept, thus causing him to be held unaccountable. On May 31, 2009, an [[Air France]] plane ([[Air France Flight 447]]) carrying 228 people from Brazil to France crashed into the Atlantic Ocean, killing everyone on board. The pilot of the plane reported "I didn't sleep enough last night. One hour – it's not enough," handing over control to the two co-pilots who did not respond appropriately when the plane was in distress.<ref>BEA final report, section 1.5, page 24 (PDF page 26 of 224): "The crew had left Paris on Thursday 28 May 2009 in the morning and arrived in Rio de Janeiro in the evening of the same day"</ref> 
A possible microsleep was recorded as part of the narrative verdict in the inquest into the [[2016 Croydon tram derailment]].<ref>{{cite web|access-date=2021-07-23|title=Croydon tram crash deaths were accidental, inquest rules|url=http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/jul/22/croydon-tram-crash-deaths-were-accidental-inquest-rules|date=22 July 2021|website=the Guardian}}</ref>

Thus, microsleeps are often examined in the context of [[driver drowsiness detection]] and prevention of work-related injuries and public safety incidents (e.g. truck crashes, locomotive crashes, airplane crashes, etc.). Some statistics are below:
*44% of drivers during late-night driving become dangerously sleepy.<ref>Åkerstedt, T., Hallvig, D., Anund, A., Fors, C., Schwarz, J., & Kecklund, G. (2013). "Having to stop driving at night because of dangerous sleepiness–awareness, physiology and behaviour." ''Journal of Sleep Research''.</ref>
*Extremely fatiguing work protocols increase accident probability from near 0% to 35%.<ref>Sirois, B., Trutschel, U., Edwards, D., Sommer, D., & Golz, M. (2010, January). "Predicting Accident Probability from Frequency of Microsleep Events." In World Congress on Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, September 7–12, 2009, Munich, Germany (pp. 2284–2286). Springer Berlin Heidelberg.</ref> 
*Chronic microsleeps not only increase probability for injury but also decrease worker productivity and increase likelihood for absenteeism from work.<ref>Swanson, L. M., ARNEDT, J., Rosekind, M. R., Belenky, G., Balkin, T. J., & Drake, C. (2011). "Sleep disorders and work performance: findings from the 2008 National Sleep Foundation Sleep in America poll." ''Journal of Sleep Research'', 20(3), 487-494.</ref>
*According to one [[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]] (CDC) study, among 74,571 adult respondents in 12 U.S. states, 35.3% reported <7 hours of sleep during a typical 24-hour period, 48.0% reported snoring, 37.9% reported unintentionally falling asleep during the day at least once in the preceding month, and 4.7% reported nodding off or falling asleep while driving at least once in the preceding month.<ref name="CDC" />
*The [[National Highway Traffic Safety Administration]] estimates that 2.5% of fatal crashes and 2% of injury crashes involve drowsy driving.<ref>National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. ''Traffic Safety Facts Crash Stats: Drowsy Driving''. Washington, DC: DOT; 2011. DOT HS 811 4492011.</ref>
*Fatigue is associated with 250 fatalities in air carrier accidents in the last 16 years.<ref>"Pilot fatigue is like 'having too much to drink'." CNN, May 15, 2009. http://www.cnn.com/2009/TRAVEL/05/15/pilot.fatigue.buffalo.crash/</ref>
[[File:Sandilands Junction derailed tram.jpg|thumb|The [[2016 Croydon tram derailment]], a result of a suspected microsleep afflicting the driver ]] Microsleep episodes are not dangerous in and of themselves, however. The only risk that comes is from the potential that they carry to cause incidents resulting from lack of awareness. If an individual has occurrences of microsleep in an environment that is free from potential environmental risk and its associated consequences, then episodes of microsleep should be non-problematic.<ref name="sleepfoundation.org"/>