Track your Mental Energy! Use a quick test to measure alertness and prevent fatigue

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Todays insights is drawn from the Scientific Article:
3-minute smartphone-based and tablet-based psychomotor vigilance tests for the assessment of reduced alertness due to sleep deprivation

What we will cover today:

• Takeaways:

• Let’s learn some more about this study:

• What they did:

• What the authors found out:

• What can we learn from this study?

• Quick Answers to Your Top of Mind Questions 🙋‍♂️

Takeaways:

👉 Use technology to optimize your mental performance: These portable PVTs make it easy to integrate cognitive monitoring into your daily routine. Whether you're preparing for exams, big meetings, or complex projects, using these quick tests can help you recognize when your focus is slipping and adjust your workload or recovery strategies accordingly.

👉 Balance productivity with self-awareness: By tracking your alertness over time, the mobile PVTs can help you identify patterns in your cognitive performance—like when you're most alert or when you start to feel mentally drained. This insight can guide you to optimize your schedule for peak productivity while ensuring proper recovery.

👉 Prevent burnout before it happens: With tools that detect even subtle declines in attention, you can take proactive steps to maintain mental energy levels. Recognizing early signs of cognitive fatigue allows you to implement recovery strategies—like power naps or short breaks—before burnout sets in, ensuring long-term productivity and mental wellbeing.

Let’s learn some more about this study:

_{Disclaimer: This summary is based on the article “3-minute smartphone-based and tablet-based psychomotor vigilance tests for assessment of reduced alertness due to sleep deprivation” by Devon A. Grant, Kimberly A. Honn, Matthew E. Layton, Samantha M. Riedy & Hans P. A. Van Dongen and aims to provide key takeaways and a condensed overview of its content. While the essence is drawn from the original article, some parts have been simplified or rephrased to enhance understanding. Please note that we at, OptiMindInsights or any other potential writers or contributors to our summaries, do not accept responsibility for any consequences arising from the use of this summary. The information provided should not be considered a substitute for personal research or professional advice. Readers are encouraged to consult the original article for detailed insights and references. The summary does not include references, but they can typically be found within the original publication. Always exercise due diligence and consider your unique circumstances before applying any information in your personal or professional life. We refer to the creative commons for reproducibility rights.}

The study evaluates two newly developed 3-minute versions of the psychomotor vigilance test (PVT) for smartphones and tablets, comparing their effectiveness to the conventional 10-minute laptop-based PVT.

Sixteen participants, aged 22–40, were subjected to a 38-hour total sleep deprivation (TSD) period followed by a recovery day. Each participant completed the PVT every three hours during wakefulness across all three devices.

Key outcomes—such as the number of lapses (responses slower than a set threshold indicating attention failure), mean reaction time (RT), and number of false starts—were measured.

Both mobile PVT versions showed significant changes during sleep deprivation and recovery, though with slightly smaller effect sizes compared to the laptop. Despite their shorter durations, the 3-minute smartphone and tablet PVTs were validated as reliable instruments for detecting reduced alertness due to sleep deprivation.

This validation is important as the standard 10-minute PVT is often impractical in field settings due to time and hardware constraints. By shortening the task to 3 minutes, the study aimed to increase the practicality of PVT for real-world use while ensuring functional validity.

The study’s findings indicate that the mobile PVTs are useful tools for measuring the effects of sleep deprivation on alertness, making them potential assets for monitoring cognitive performance in operational settings.

What they did:

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Participants

The study included 16 healthy participants (9 females, 7 males) aged 22–40 (mean age: 29.0 years). Participants were physically and psychologically healthy, without a history of psychiatric illness, brain injury, or substance abuse. They had no current medical treatments, sleep disorders, or circadian disruptions, and maintained regular sleep patterns prior to the study.

Experimental design

The study was conducted over five consecutive days in a controlled laboratory environment. After a practice day and a baseline day, participants underwent 38 hours of total sleep deprivation (TSD), followed by a recovery day. During the study, participants performed various neurobehavioral performance tests every three hours during wakefulness, including the 3-minute smartphone and tablet PVTs, as well as the standard 10-minute laptop-based PVT.

Testing setup and implementations

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