Doctoral Dissertation Research in DRMS: The Effects of Sleep Restriction on Adolescents' Pedestrian Safety

University Of Alabama At Birmingham, Birmingham AL

Investigators

Abstract

Every year thousands of adolescents require medical attention due to pedestrian injury. Many factors contribute to safe pedestrian behavior. Among them are reaction time, impulsivity, risk-taking, and attention. Sleep deprivation negatively influences these same characteristics that influence pedestrian safety. This study will investigate whether sleep restriction reduces adolescents' pedestrian safety. Subjects will engage in a virtual reality pedestrian environment in two conditions: a sleep deprived condition (4 hours sleep the previous night) and an adequate sleep condition (8 hours sleep the previous night). Adolescents may be riskier pedestrians when sleep deprived compared to when adequately rested. Risk will be displayed in a virtual pedestrian environment through increased numbers of close calls, hits, and missed safe opportunities, longer start delays, decreased gap sizes, and less attention to traffic. The study will have broad implications in two areas. First, it will provide new knowledge to help inform policy decisions, such as school start times. Second, research demonstrating the increased pedestrian risk of sleep restricted adolescents might promote parental enforcement of earlier bedtimes on nights before adolescents will be walking somewhere (or, alternatively, encourage parents to drive their adolescents to school on mornings when they were unable to sleep an adequate amount). Each of these outcomes could ultimately result in fewer pedestrian injuries in adolescents. Overall, this study may raise awareness about the significance of adequate sleep in adolescents and promote healthier sleep habits.