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Reading when tired.

Discussion in 'Chit Chat' started by Canterpiece, May 25, 2019.

  1. Canterpiece

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    I am curious how much sleep influences people's reading skills. A few times, whilst I have been sleep deprived, I have lost the ability to read properly.

    Usually this happens when I have only had 2-3 hours of sleep. One time I was up late and the next day I tried to read a poster. I thought it said "Piggy Blue Earth Is" for a moment before I realised that it read "Planet Earth Is Blue".

    Nothing wrong with my eyesight. I do have visual processing issues, but usually I only run into difficulties with numbers, equation signs, and music notes. However, if I don't get enough sleep then sentences can get quite strange.

    So, has anyone here found this to be true when you haven't had enough sleep? To what degree?
     
    #1 Canterpiece, May 25, 2019
    Last edited: May 25, 2019
  2. Destin

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    Yes, that should happen to pretty much everyone. The longer you're awake, the more brain waste products and pollution are clogging your brain's neural systems and breaking down it's ability to run complex processes like interpreting visual signals correctly. Cells called Astrocytes eat the waste and pollution while you sleep, cleaning the brain, and letting it function normally again once you're well rested.
     
  3. canadawet

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    This definitely happens to me, and not just with reading. Sometimes I'll be scrolling through my phone after having pulled an all-nighter and it'll get to the point where I see pictures moving and text swirling around. I remember one time I was looking at this still image of a person, saw them laugh, and just thought, "yeah, it's about time I went to sleep." I knew this was fairly normal but it's pretty cool to see an actual explanation of why up there!
     
  4. TJ

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    Both my ability to read and write go out the window when I'm exhausted. When reading, I'll simply fall asleep and drop the book. Writing, however, is a little more comical. Being a paramedic and working 24 hour shifts, I often find myself writing medical reports at 0200 and 0300am after a long sleepless night on the ambulance. Some of the sentences I have come up with in a sleepless stupor are pretty disturbing (one time suggesting that a patient spoke in absolute gibberish, despite the fact that no such thing happened), and I worry to think about what would happen if I turned a report in like that. :grimacing: Thankfully I've learned my lesson and always proofread my reports the next morning to ensure I don't miss any slip-ups. :blush:

    A lot of the time though, I read to make myself tired. If it's late but I'm not sleepy, give it 5-10 pages and I'll be drooling on the page.
     
  5. Loves books

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    I know I am beyond over tired when I lose the ability to read. It’s happened a couple of times when I really wanted to keep reading but just couldn’t. It doesn’t bother me too much because I don’t usually let myself get that tired. Unlike my mother I never was able to fall asleep while reading.
     
  6. LaurenSkye

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    When I'm tired I sometimes have to read the same thing over and over again just to comprehend it. It really hurt when I was working at a job that involved reading a lot. It really hurt my productivity and lead to me getting fired.