this post was submitted on 25 Jul 2025
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No Stupid Questions

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Just as stated, I don't the proper way to express it

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[–] SincerityIsCool@lemmy.ca 49 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

I don't think the speed of the electrical impulse would change, but yes reaction time would. Perception is more about our brain processing signals than it is about the signals themselves. What you experience yourself as seeing is not the raw image going into your eyes. Slower processing means you're also less likely to see, as in be aware of, details.

This is why tired driving is incredibly dangerous.

[–] marcos@lemmy.world 20 points 2 days ago (2 children)

You'd be surprised. The speed of electrical pulses inside neurons change due to all kinds of factors, like training and diet.

I do really expect them to change with tiredness too.

[–] Lightfire228@pawb.social 16 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

I would expect that brain processing takes orders of magnitude longer than signal propagation

So, while you're probably correct, I'd wager that the brain processing delay drowns out any variances in signal propagation speeds

(I are computer science, not neuroscience)

[–] marcos@lemmy.world 7 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I'm not a neurologist either, so take this with a huge grain of salt, but it seems that I've gone a bit deeper on the rabbit hole.

AFAIK, "brain processing" seems to be mostly signal propagation. Our brains don't work anything like the neural networks we use, but it seems to work like some kind of neural network, and "processing" being made by moving signals from one place to another is part of it.

The one effect of sleep that I know of is exactly the kind of "environmental cleanup" necessary to make the electrical signals move faster. Now, there are certainly lots of other effects I don't know of, and for all I know the speed could actually be bounded and all that sleep does is to keep it at the boundary. Also, "tired" is a very ambiguous word here. But still, I'd expect it to be important.

[–] Lightfire228@pawb.social 5 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

I think i chose my terms poorly

In this case, what i meant by "Signal propagation" was purely the time delay from retinal stimulation, to optic nerve, to brain

And by "brain processing", i meant "the time it takes from brain receives visual data to you experiencing it"


Also, if you're interested, Artem Kirsanov is a really fascinating YT channel that talks about cutting edge research into neurons and information processing

[–] SincerityIsCool@lemmy.ca 7 points 2 days ago

Brains are weird so that checks out

I like that description. I may borrow it the next time I'm asked to run a safety training.

To answer your question, yes. Your reaction time does slow down as you become more tired. The effect is similar to being very drunk. This fact is the basis for Hours of Service regulations in the US trucking industry.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3307962/

https://academic.oup.com/sleep/article-abstract/18/5/346/2749684

https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/effects-of-sleep-deprivation

https://crimsonpublishers.com/cojts/fulltext/COJTS.000503.php

[–] napkin2020@sh.itjust.works 13 points 1 day ago (1 children)
[–] zxqwas@lemmy.world 24 points 2 days ago

Yes. "Slower reaction time" or something is the phrase I'd use. It gets worse if I'm tired.

[–] XeroxCool@lemmy.world 7 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Too much corruption in RAM, need a power cycle

[–] justsquigglez@leminal.space 6 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

"Did you try turning yourself off and on again?"

"Yeah, but now I've got post-nut clarity and I'm just sad"

[–] Mbourgon@lemmy.world 10 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Slower reaction times? Yup. I think Mythbusters even covered it.

[–] Rooskie91@discuss.online 9 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

There have also been several studies that also prove this.

Your driving after being awake for 24 hours is as impacted as though you had a 0.1% BAC (0.08% is the legal limit).

[–] Rhaedas@fedia.io 2 points 2 days ago

Those driving simulators where you can adjust the reaction time to show how someone impaired would react are scary. And that's just reaction time, a drunk/exhausted person may not even realize how off they are so everything is fine to them.

[–] Daedskin@lemmy.zip 7 points 2 days ago

This doesn't answer the question, but I think "ping" is a fine way to describe it, as most people will know what you mean. If you want a more technical word, "latency" is a generalized form of "ping".

[–] deadcatbounce@reddthat.com 5 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

You've been in Elon's programme, haven't you? 😁

[–] velummortis@lemmy.dbzer0.com 0 points 1 day ago (1 children)

What program? I'm not aware of Muskrat's doings after his breakup with his fascist tangerine

[–] deadcatbounce@reddthat.com 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)
[–] velummortis@lemmy.dbzer0.com 0 points 10 hours ago (1 children)

I feel bad that people have to place the well-being of their very brains into the hands of people like him

[–] deadcatbounce@reddthat.com 1 points 4 hours ago

People's motives are different. The spectrum is so diverse that it makes acknowledgement of our ignorance of the world forefront.

[–] AbouBenAdhem@lemmy.world 7 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

In the literal sense of the time it takes neuronal spikes to travel from your retina to your visual cortex, no.

What makes it feel that way, I think, is a reduction in the amount of resources your brain is devoting to the real-time modeling of your environment that those visual signals feed into, and that has to be processed before you become conscious of any changes.

[–] LovableSidekick@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago

No but the CPU load slows down processing.

Yeah. Also when I'm really tired, I can't play Minecraft because my brain percieves it more as a 2D plane rather than a 3D space.

Yes, besides falling asleep at the wheel that's also why you shouldn't drive when tired.

[–] Baggie@lemmy.zip 3 points 2 days ago

Sort of, your processing power does decrease, meaning you'll likely do a worse job of putting what you're seeing into the appropriate context.

[–] DagwoodIII@piefed.social 2 points 2 days ago

You always see at the same speed. Your reaction time slows down.

Think of it this way. You step on a Lego and it hurts instantly. Doesn't matter if you're sleepy or drunk or wide awake. You feel it right away. Same with seeing; it's instantaneous.