A researcher monitors a subject's brain activity during sleep using EEG. An unexpected loud noise occurs, transiently increasing delta wave activity. Which outcome is most likely?

💡 Explanation

Sleep inertia is a period of impaired cognitive and motor performance immediately following an arousal. The increased delta wave activity reflects a shift toward lighter sleep due to the noise disturbance, because this transient stimulation causes a brief arousal from slow-wave sleep; therefore, sleep inertia is observed, rather than a shift into REM or increased memory consolidation.

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