THE EFFECTS OF SLEEP DEPRIVATION ON PERFORMANCE OVER A 48-HOUR PERIOD

Abstract

An experiment was conducted to determine, for extended periods of work, the effects of (a) working for 48 hours without sleep on the efficiency of the work done, (b) starting work periods at night compared with starting in the morning, and (c) rotating jobs. Two-man teams performed a driving task and a target detection task; a control group performed the same tasks, but with provisions for sleep. Results indicate that performance deteriorates over a 48-hour period of work without sleep, and that deterioration occurs primarily at night, or during the subjects' normal sleeping hours. Job rotation to introduce another activity did not prevent performance decrements.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 01, 1969
Accession Number
AD0688950

Entities

People

  • Eugene H. Drucker
  • J. R. Ware
  • L. D. Cannon

Organizations

  • George Washington University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Analysis Of Variance
  • Data Analysis
  • Deprivation
  • Detection
  • Efficiency
  • Experimental Design
  • Human Resources
  • Military Doctrine
  • Military Equipment
  • Military Personnel
  • Motivation
  • Rotation
  • Simulators
  • Sleep Deprivation
  • Statistical Analysis
  • Target Detection

Fields of Study

  • Psychology

Readers

  • Circadian Sleep-Wake Regulation and Chronobiology
  • Instructional Design and Training Evaluation.