Vigilance
Vigilance is the state of being alert and attentive to one’s surrounding environment. A low state of vigilance can also be described as a state of ‘sleepiness’. It is clear that vigilance is directly related to sleep, the quality of which has a tremendous impact on daytime vigilance.
Low vigilance often leads to poor academic and physical performance, as well as a higher risk of injury during daily activities. While conveying the importance of sleep through ‘sleep hygiene’ has been largely ineffective, vigilance is an appealing concept on optimizing performance and injury prevention. Teaching sleep using the concept of vigilance may find greater success, specifically through the Wake-a-Thon (see below). The figure on the right was created as an analogy of sleep and vigilance, which you may find helpful and/or informative.
*Summer student scholarship from BCCH Research Institute in 2017, **Mini Med School Scholarships, and BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute and Foundation
Project Leads: Gerhard Klösch and Osman Ipsiroglu
Project Partners: Emilie Beaulieu (2018-Present), Sarah Richmond (2018-19), Ian Pike (2018-19), Manuel Kemethofer (2017), Marion Seidenberger (2017), Karen Spruyt (2017), Suzanne Lewis (2017)
Research Assistants: Jyhyun Cho, Emmanuel Tse*, Nadia Beyzaei, Sayeed Mavani, Krystal Go**, Renee Boldut, Kaylin Xu**, Mikayla Hong, Christopher Leong, Kevin Xiao
Acknowledgements: The project team would like to thank the high school students Alyana Lalani, Audrey Basic, and Roman Johnson for their input, the BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute for hosting the Vancouver Summer Sleep School since 2017 in their facilities, and BC Children’s Foundation for matching donations as well as scholarships for selected students. The University of British Columbia, Kids Brain Health Network (KBHN), Austrian Automobile Club (OEAMTC), Institute for Sleep-Wake-Research (ISWF), Medical University of Vienna