COMBINED EFFFECTS OF SLEEP LOSS AND DEMANDING WORK-REST SCHEDULES ON CREW PERFORMANCE.
Abstract
Subjects were organized into two 5-man crews who worked alternating shifts on a schedule of 4-hours on duty and 4-hours off for the entire 12-day confinement period. In each of the other two studies, six USAF Pilots were confined for 12 days while following a schedule of 4-hours on duty and 2-hours off. The groups in each study were confined to a simulated advanced-system crew compartment; while on duty the operators were tested with a battery of six performance tasks, two of which required interactions among crewmembers in the form of exchanges of information, cooperation, and temporal coordination. During the middle two days of the 12-day confinement period, ie, on days, six and seven, the crews following the 4-4 work-rest schedule were assigned extra work that resulted in each man's remaining awake for a 44-hour period; on the same days, the crews following the 4-2 schedule were assigned extra work that resulted in each man's remaining awake for a 40-hour period. The data show that performance is generally inferior on the 4-2 schedule as compared to the 4-4 schedule and that the stress of a period of sleep loss results in generally greater performance decrements on the 4-2 than on the 4-4 schedule. The 4-2 schedule is not recommended if emergency periods involving sleep loss can be expected and a high level of performance is a critical requirement. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 1964
- Accession Number
- AD0606214
Entities
People
- Earl A. Alluisi
- Thomas J. Hall
- W. Dean Chiles
Organizations
- Lockheed Martin