ARE YOU SLEEP-DEPRIVED? TRY THE SPOON TEST

MOST people know when they are not getting enough sleep. They feel tired and woozy, hungry and fretful.

But to get a more objective measure of how sleepdeprived you really are, I recommend trying the Sleep Onset Latency Test.

The version I’m about to describe was developed by a famous sleep researcher, Professor Kleitman, from the University of Chicago.

You lie in a quiet, darkened room in the early afternoon, clutching a spoon, which you hold over the edge of the bed. You place a metal tray on the floor by your bed, check the

time, then close your eyes. The idea is that if you fall asleep, the spoon drops from your fingers and hits the tray with a loud clang, waking you up. You then check your watch to see how much time has passed.

According to Prof Kleitman, if you fall asleep within five minutes of closing your eyes, it means you are severely sleep-deprived.

If you’re awake for anything over 15 minutes, you’re fine.

A simpler version of this test is to go to bed in the afternoon, set an alarm for 15 minutes, and see if you drop off before the alarm goes off.