Washington: Acoustician Adam Vogel of University of Melbourne, Australia has found that one can make out how tired a person is just by listening to their voice.
He describes a novel method to acoustically analyze the effects of fatigue on the central nervous system as revealed through speech.
Those concerned with managing tiredness – such as workers, public safety officials – will benefit from the find, he said. It may also be a useful tool for monitoring fatigue in clinical trials where alertness is a key measured outcome.
18 young adults were provided speech samples (sustained vowels, reading counting and reading tasks) every two hours in the study.
Vogel and his colleagues looked at components of speech such as length of pauses and total time to complete a spoken task.
Results indicated that as fatigue progresses, speech slows and variations in pitch increase and tone diminishes.
The team concluded that we have less control over the muscles that produce speech as we become more and more tired.
"Although remaining awake for 24 hours is physically and mentally exhausting, it``s actually a great way to make new friends," notes Vogel.
"Most of them just entertained themselves between testing by watching movies, reading or talking amongst themselves."
The study appears this month in The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.
ANI
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.
Cookies Setting
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device and the processing of information obtained via those cookies (including about your preferences, device and online activity) by us and our commercial partners to enhance site navigation, personalise ads, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. More information can be found in our Cookies and Privacy Policy. You can amend your cookie settings to reject non-essential cookies by clicking Cookie Settings below.
Manage Consent Preferences
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work or you may not be able to login.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advert as well as help measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we may not know when you have visited our site, and may not be able to monitor its performance.