> I struggle to see how anyone that has or even seen someone with severe sleep deprivation can say this with a straight face.
One of the things that sleep disruption or deprivation can impair is the ability to judge one's own alertness. That's arguably one of the reasons that it contributes to so many harmful accidents. If sleep-deprived people consistently realized how messed up their heads were, they might take fewer risks and do things more slowly, but they often try to proceed as if they were fully functioning.
One of the things that sleep disruption or deprivation can impair is the ability to judge one's own alertness. That's arguably one of the reasons that it contributes to so many harmful accidents. If sleep-deprived people consistently realized how messed up their heads were, they might take fewer risks and do things more slowly, but they often try to proceed as if they were fully functioning.