Alertness is the state of paying close and continuous
attention. It is the opposite of inattention, which is
failure to pay close
attention to
details or making careless mistakes when doing
work or other
activities, trouble keeping attention focused during tasks, appearing not to listen when spoken to, failure to follow instructions or finish tasks, avoiding tasks that require a high amount of mental effort and
organization, such as
projects, frequently losing items required to facilitate tasks or activities, such as supplies, excessive distractibility,
forgetfulness,
procrastination i.e. inability to begin an activity, difficulties with activities (cleaning, administrative, etc.), difficulty falling asleep which may be due to too many thoughts at night, frequent emotional outbursts, easily frustrated, and easily distracted.
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