Stephen M Popkin | PubMed Health

PubMed2005

Self-report naps in irregular work schedules.

Few studies have examined napping in irregular work schedules such as those experienced by freight locomotive engineers. The current study examined the effect of napping in irregular work schedules on sleep length and three subjective measures: ability to go to sleep, ability to stay asleep, and a feeling of being well-rested upon awakening. One hundred and seventy-nine freight engineers completed a 14-d activity log, providing information on sleep times and subjective evaluations of sleep. The results indicated that days with naps resulted in significantly more total sleep but less sleep in the main sleep period of the day. The days with naps also resulted in somewhat more difficulty with going to sleep, staying asleep and with feeling well-rested upon awakening. It is important to note, however, that when examining the days with naps, nap length was not significantly correlated with main sleep time, ability to go to sleep, ability to stay asleep, or feeling well-rested upon awakening. These results suggest that napping may be useful when working irregular work schedules if the engineer is willing to accept a slight decrease in ability to go to sleep, stay asleep, and feeling rested.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Research requirements for operational decision-making using models of fatigue and performance.

Sustained human performance is critical to job and mission success in many federal agencies including national defense, aerospace exploration, and transportation. For the responsible agencies, applications of the basic biomedical and applied human factors science provide the best available solutions to help individuals perform more effectively and with increased safety. Key products of this research are biomathematical models that predict periods of impaired performance, with applications in planning tools, real time monitoring, and intervention decision aids. Since it is difficult to quantify the number of judgment errors or accidents averted, metrics of success for fatigue management systems must be largely based on the accuracy of performance predictions derived from laboratory-based research studies and the extent to which such results can be generalized to the field environment. Performance metrics must, at a minimum, be correlated with occupational task performance to demonstrate relevance to real-world applications. This paper outlines broad goals for human effectiveness research related to fatigue, alertness, and performance. To advance from the present state of knowledge to useful predictive models requires a well-coordinated commitment from federal agencies. Users should be made aware that current models and tests are not likely to encompass all of the aspects of human performance that are relevant to field environments and occupations.

Decision Support Techniques↗