Wrecked? This Simple Test Will Reveal If You Are Sleep Deprived For Real

Don’t worry, mamas, we got you. And the best bit, all you need is a spoon and a metal tray to find out.

Developed by researcher Nathaniel Kleitman at the University of Chicago, The Sleep Onset Latency Test is thought to reveal if you are suffering sleep deprivation.

“It’s based on solid science,” Mosley writes in The Mail.

To test the experiment for yourself here is what you need to do:

“Lie down in a quiet, darkened room in the early afternoon clutching a spoon, which you hold over the edge of the bed,” Mosley explains.  “Then, you put a metal tray on the floor by your bed, then close your eyes.”

The test is designed to find out if you fall asleep and, if so, how soon after lying down you drift off.

The idea behind the experiment is that once you do nod off, the spoon will drop from your ‘senseless fingers’ and onto the metal tray below with a nice loud clang. The noise should then wake you up, unless you happen to be a very heavy sleeper.

As soon as you’re awake you should check your clock to see how much time has elapsed since you closed your eyes (so make sure you also check the time when you start this experiment).

This is how you read your “result”:

Now, go find a dark room!