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Alertness is the state of paying close and continuous attention being watchful and prompt to meet danger or emergency, or being quick to perceive and act. It is related to psychology as well as to physiology. A lack alertness is a symptom of a number of conditions, including narcolepsy, attention deficit disorder, chronic fatigue syndrome, depression, Addison's disease, or sleep deprivation. The word is formed from "alert", which comes from the Italian "all'erta" (on the watch, literally, on the height; 1618)

Physiological aspects

A lack of alertness is often associated with the physiological response of yawning, in which a person opens their mouth wide and inhales. Research from 2007 indicated that yawning may boost the alertness of the brain. Psychologists Andrew Gallup and Gordon Gallup from the State University of New York at Albany argue that humans yawn to "boost blood flow and chill the brain". Their research suggests that yawns may be "catchy" in a social setting "to help raise the attentiveness of the whole group". Robert Provine from the University of Maryland argues that "Yawning signals a transition between the behavioural states of wakefulness and sleepiness, and boredom to alertness." ¹

Research from 2004 showed that "caffeine taken in small, timed dosages and the wake-promoting agent modafinil can improve alertness." ² People who have to be alert during their jobs, such as air traffic controllers or pilots often face challenges maintaining their alertness. Research shows that for people "...engaged in attention-intensive and monotonous tasks, retaining a constant level of alertness is rare if not impossible." If people employed in safety-related or transportation jobs have lapses in alternetss, this "may lead to severe consequences in occupations ranging from air traffic control to monitoring of nuclear power plants." ³

During the Second World War, US soldiers and aviators were given benzedrine, an amphetamine drug, to increase their alertness during long periods on duty. While air force pilots are able to use the drug to remain awake during combat flights, the use of amphetamines by commercial airline pilots is forbidden. British troops used 72 million amphetamine tablets in the second world war⁴ and the RAF used so many that "Methedrine won the Battle of Britain" according to one report⁵. American bomber pilots use amphetamines ("go pills") to stay awake during long missions. The Tarnak Farm incident, in which an American F-16 pilot killed several friendly Canadian soldiers on the ground, was blamed by the pilot on his use of amphetamine. A nonjudicial hearing rejected the pilot's claim.

Amphetamines are used by college and high-school students as a study and test-taking aid.⁶ Amphetamine increases energy levels, concentration, and motivation, allowing students to study for an extended period of time. These drugs are often acquired through ADHD prescriptions to students and peers, rather than illicitly produced drugs. ⁷ Truck drivers, especially long-haul drivers, often take amphetamine⁸ to combat symptoms of somnolence and to increase their concentration on driving.

References

1. ^ New Scientist magazine, issue 2610 02 July 2007, page 14 Rowan Hooper http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg19426104.400-yawning-may-boost-brains-alertness.html
2. ^ Tactics to Boost Alertness May Benefit Night Workers by Lynne Lamberg http://pn.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/full/39/13/26
3. ^ http://cnl.salk.edu/~jung/alert.html
4. ^ De Mondenard, Dr Jean-Pierre: Dopage, l'imposture des performances, Chiron, France, 2000
5. ^ Grant, D.N.W.; Air Force, UK, 1944
6. ^ Twohey, Megan (2006-03-25). "Pills become an addictive study aid". JS Online. Retrieved on 2007-12-02.
7. ^ The Illicit Market for ADHD Prescription Drugs in Queensland, Queensland Crime and Misconduct Commission, April 2002, http://www.cmc.qld.gov.au/data/portal/00000005/content/63420001125986217865.pdf, retrieved on 13 January 2008 
8. ^ Lund, Adrian K; David F. Preusser, Richard D. Blomberg, Allan F. Williams, J. Michael Walsh (1989). "Drug Use by Tractor-Trailer Drivers", Drugs in the Workplace: Research and Evaluation Data, National Institute on Drug Abuse Research. Rockville, MD: National Institute on Drug Abuse, 47-67. Retrieved on 2007-12-02. "This study has provided the first objective data regarding the use of potentially abusive drugs by tractor-trailer drivers... Prescription stimulants, such as amphetamine, methamphetamine, and phentermine were found in 5 percent of the [317] drivers [who participated in the study], often in combination with similar but less potent stimulants, such as phenylpropanolamine. Nonprescription stimulants were detected in 12 percent of the drivers, about half of whom gave no medical explanation for their presence... One limitation of these findings is that 12 percent of the randomly selected drivers refused to participate in the study or provided insufficient urine and blood for testing; the distribution of drugs among these 42 drivers is unknown... Finally, the results apply to tractor-trailer drivers operating on a major east-west interstate route in Tennessee. Drug incidence among other truck-driver populations are unknown and may be higher or lower than reported here. (64)" 

Further reading

• Makeig, S and Inlow, M, "Lapses in alertness: coherence of fluctuations in performance and the EEG spectrum", Electroencephalogr clin Neurophysiol , 86:23-35, 1993.
• Jung, T-P and Makeig, S, "Estimating Level of Alertness from EEG", Proceedings of the 16th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, 1103-4, 1994.
• Makeig S, Jung T-P, and Sejnowski TJ, "Awareness during Drowsiness: Dynamics and Electrophysiological Correlates", Canadian J. Experimental Psychology, 54(4):266-73, 2000.

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