1997-98
NEW MEXICO
HIGH SCHOOL
SUPERCOMPUTING CHALLENGE
TEAM ABSTRACT
090
Portales High School
psychology
Sleep Deprivation
The prodject that our team will be experimenting with is sleep deprivation. The goal of our research is to hopefully understand how lack of sleep affects human psychological behavior.
During the course of our studies, we will perform the following experiments over a 48 hour period.
The Never-ending Days
This will be the hardest to perform because the patients will be required to stay awake for the full 48 hour time period. Use of stimulants will not be exercised on any of the test subjects . Such stimulants include caffeine, no dose pills, etc... Expected side effects include exhaustion, extreme headaches, lack of attention, giddiness, disorientation, mood swings, and blurred vision.
2 Hours Every Night
This test will involve the test subjects staying awake for 22 hours. Naturally, the subjects will have 2 hours of sleep around the hours of 10 PM to 12 AM. We expect varied results with this experiment because of the disturbed sleep patterns; i.e... for some people, two hours of sleep over a 24 hour time period will make the individual crave sleep more whereas with some people, it somewhat rejuvenates them. These are only expected results. Upcoming test may prove otherwise.
4 Hours Every Night
This appears to be the best compromis between theory and practice. It is enough sleep to enable a clear thought process, but not necessarily enough to stay awake during a long period of time. Common side effects that are hypothesized include minor headaches and a decreased energy level.
The test that will be taken during the experiments will deal with puzzles, math equations, and reflexes.