Sleep patterns of naval aviation personnel conducting mine hunting operations

• Main Author: Solberg, Bennett Jon.
• Other Authors: Miller, Nita Lewis
• Format: Others
• Published: Monterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School 2012
• Subjects: Caffeine; Psychology; Physiology; Sleep deprivation; Sailors; Sleep; Fatigue; Naval aviation; Actigraphy
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10945/2653

Human Systems Integration Report === Detailed research conducted over the past forty years has conclusively determined that varying degrees of sleep loss, shifts in sleep cycle, increased stress and even changes in time zone with respect to daylight transition result in a myriad of physiological and psychological degradations (Helmreich, 2000). Fatigue affects human performance, resulting in predictable changes not only on the individual level but also on the system as a whole. This descriptive study investigates the amount and quality of sleep received by aviation personnel assigned to an operational squadron conducting mine hunting operations. Wrist activity monitors (actigraphs) were used to determine objective assessments of sleep quantity and quantity. Demographic variables and additional measures such as reported sleepiness, fatigue ratings, caffeine and alcohol use, were also collected. Despite a number of factors which altered the original study design, significant differences in amount of sleep, sleep quality and predicted effectiveness of personnel by officer-enlisted status were identified.