Effects of Extreme Sleep Deprivation on Human Performance

http://www.isu.edu/ias/documents/24_Tran.pdf
Sleep is a fundamental recuperative process for the nervous system. Disruption of this homeostatic drive can lead to severe impairments of the operator’s ability to perceive, recognize, and respond to emergencies and/or unanticipated events, putting the operator at risk. Therefore, establishing a comprehensive understanding of how sleep deprivation influences human performance is essential in order to counter fatigue or to develop mitigation strategies. The goal of the present study was to examine the psychological effects of prolonged sleep deprivation (approx. 75 hrs) over a four-day span on a general aviation pilot flying a fixed-based flight simulator. During the study, a series of tasks were employed every four hours in order to examine the pilot’s perceptual and higher level cognitive abilities. Overall, results suggest that the majority of cognitive and perceptual degradation occurs between 30-40 hours into the flight. Limitations and future research directions are also discussed.

Fatigue and Sleep Management

http://www.eurocontrol.be/humanfactors/gallery/content/public/docs/BROCHURES/Fatigue_Brochure.pdf



For shift workers, fatigue and sleep debt can become a challenge and difficult to cope with.
We have designed this booklet to provide knowledge and strategies that you can use to
manage your lifestyle, in order to help you better manage your sleep.
When reading through this booklet keep in mind that whilst some of the ideas/suggestions
may seem a little eccentric, people are different, and something that may work for one
person may not work for another. Find what works for you, then you will be one step closer
of getting a good nights sleep and feeling less tired.