High-Altitude Exposure and Time Interval Perception of Chinese Migrants in Tibet

Abstract

High-altitude exposure can negatively impact one’s ability to accurately perceive time. This study focuses on Chinese migrants who have traveled to the Tibetan plateau and explores the effects of high-altitude exposure on their time interval judgment abilities based on three separate studies. In Study 1, it was found that exposure to high altitudes negatively impacted the time interval judgment functions of the migrants compared with a low-altitude control group; they exhibited a prolonged response time (540 ms: p = 0.006, 95% CI (−1.70 −0.32)) and reduced accuracy (1080 ms: p = 0.032, 95% CI (0.06 1.26)) in certain behavioral tasks. In Study 2, the results showed that high-altitude exposure and sleepiness had an interactive effect on time interval judgment (1080 ms) (p < 0.05, 95% CI (−0.83 −0.40)). To further verify our interaction hypothesis, in Study 3, we investigated the time interval judgment of interactions between acute high-altitude exposure and sleepiness level. The results revealed that the adaptation effect disappeared and sleepiness significantly exacerbated the negative effects of high-altitude exposure on time interval judgment (p < 0.001, 95% CI (−0.85 −0.34)). This study is the first to examine the effects of high-altitude exposure on time interval judgment processing functions and the effects of sleep-related factors on individual time interval judgment.