There's more than one reason why you shouldn't be out cutting the grass at 7 a.m. on Sunday morning. You probably aren't safe doing it.
The fuzzy-brain feeling you have when you first wake up, called sleep inertia, can be as bad as being drunk, say researchers at the University of Colorado at Boulder. It can last from a few minutes to an hour or more, depending on the individual.
The area of the brain responsible for problem-solving, complex thought, and emotions takes longer to wake up than other parts of the brain. If you will be working with machinery or driving in heavy traffic, be awake first for at least an hour before you start.
Rick Good spent ten years in the newspaper business, including with The News & Observer (Raleigh, NC) and The Greenville News (Greenville, SC). He co-wrote, with Melinda Coleman, Rutledge to Riley: Governors of South Carolina, 1776–Present (Published by The Greenville News), and is the author of Mind Games Trivia #1 (Amazon). He has recently spent 15 years creating original trivia content through Sounds Good Mobile Entertainment and continues that with his new company, SGME Software. He edits The Smart Reader’s money, real estate, and business coverage.
