Elena Miró | PubMed Health

PubMed2003

Age-related changes and gender differences in time estimation.

A study was carried out in which age and gender differences were studied in the performance of an empty interval production task. The duration of these intervals was 10 s, 1 and 5 min. The sample was made up of 140 subjects, half male and half female, in seven different age groups from 8 to 70 years old. The age range permitted us to identify when differences begin to be significant. The results show an age-related increase in the underproduction of the intervals. The differences between age groups attained significance from 51 to 60 years onward. With regard to gender, the main result was a greater underproduction of longer intervals (1 and 5 min) for women. These findings were interpreted in terms of different models of time estimation.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2003

Time estimation during prolonged sleep deprivation and its relation to activation measures.

This is the first study to analyze variations in time estimation during 60 h of sleep deprivation and the relation between time estimation performance and the activation measures of skin resistance level, body temperature, and Stanford Sleepiness Scale (SSS) scores. Among 30 healthy participants 18 to 24 years of age, for a 10-s interval using the production method, we found a lengthening in time estimations that was modulated by circadian oscillations. No differences in gender were found in the time estimation task during sleep deprivation. The variations in time estimation correlated significantly with body temperature, skin resistance level, and SSS throughout the sleep deprivation period. When body temperature is elevated, indicating a high level of activation, the interval tends to be underestimated, and vice versa. When the skin resistance level or SSS is elevated (low activation), time estimation is lengthened, and vice versa. This lengthening is important because many everyday situations involve duration estimation under moderate to severe sleep loss. Actual or potential applications of this research include transportation systems, emergency response work, sporting activities, and industrial settings in which accuracy in anticipation or coincidence timing is important for safety or efficiency.

Adolescent↗