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Fatigue Isn't Aging


Notes:

It's important to recognize that there are many causes of fatigue, more than are listed here, such as motion sickness, competitive stress, mental effort, sustained concentration, and so on. We are sometimes surprised at just how fatigued we feel after what seem like minor stresses. Mild hypoxia, for example, or even novel activity. I recall a couple who took their first glider ride -- about an hour, and not at high altitude, and all the rest of the day remarked repeatedly how tired they felt.

It's important to recognize that fatigue has many causes, and may be disproportionate to our subjective stress or effort. It's important to recognize that these minor things can cause significant fatigue and thus may require adjustment of our behavior.

More important than the causes of fatigue are its consequences. The most important of these is impaired attentiveness, particularly from microsleep. Microsleeps are brief episodes of sleep of which we may be only simply aware that occur when we're sleep deprived. These are significant because of the severe inattentiveness they involve and the obvious risk to safe piloting of any vehicle, especially a car. Gotta get home alive from the glider port!

Fatigue more generally impairs motor and intellectual skills, increasing the risk that we'll inadvertently do something, without intending to, that makes us look stupid or unskilled.

The 'oldest' peple I've ever cared for are women about 30 with 2 or more pre-school children.