Hopefully pilots aren't like mice!

Shift workers: Sleep loss may cause brain damage, new research says - CNN.com

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Cramming in extra hours of shut-eye may not make up for those lost pulling all-nighters, new research indicates.
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When the mice lost a little sleep, nerve cells reacted by making more of a protein, called sirtuin type 3, to energize and protect them.
But when losing sleep became a habit, that reaction shut down. After just a few days of "shift work" sleep, the cells start dying off at an accelerated pace.
The discovery that long-term sleep loss can result in a loss of brain cells is a first, Veasey said.
"No one really thought that the brain could be irreversibly injured from sleep loss," she said. That has now changed.

I should be a vegetable by now,

+1

This explains a lot.

Maybe, your brain is so far gone, you don't realize you are

C'mon! We're pilots! Our brain cells have survived worse. Besides, as pilots, we are all well aware that we have extra brain cells to spare. Not worried.

Scientists claim we only use about 10% of our brain capacity in a lifetime. With 50% of it consumed by alcohol we still have 40% to play with!

What?

You mean I can't expect someone who's drunk to tell accurately tell me is good to drive...??

The next thing you'll tell me is that a fatigued pilot can't really assess his true level of fatigue.

I can't tell what you were trying to say here!

If I remember bar talk with the squadron flight doc correctly only the strongest brain cells survive, so no sleep actually makes you brain stronger.

A) I don't have Dain Bramage
2) MEMFr8Dog doesn't too