0000000000143498
AUTHOR
M. Sihvola
Recurrent On-Duty Sleepiness and Alertness Management Strategies in Long-Haul Airline Pilots
Introduction We examined whether long-haul airline pilots without recurrent on-duty sleepiness obtain more prior sleep and use more effective in-flight alertness management strategies than their colleagues with recurrent on-duty sleepiness. Methods There were 51 pilots who flew at least twice from Helsinki to Asia. Of them, 44 flew at least twice back to Helsinki following 1 local night. On-duty sleepiness was measured by the Karolinska Sleepiness Scale (KSS), alertness management strategies by a diary, and sleep by a diary and activity monitor. Pilots who rated KSS ≥ 7 on each, some, or none of the flights were classified as "regularly", "sometimes", and "never" sleepy, respectively. This …
Effects of alertness management training on sleepiness among long-haul truck drivers : a randomized controlled trial
Education is a frequently recommended remedy for driver sleepiness in occupational settings, although not many studies have examined its usefulness. To date, there are no previous on-road randomized controlled trials investigating the benefits of training on sleepiness among employees working in road transport. To examine the effects of an educational intervention on long-haul truck drivers' sleepiness at the wheel, amount of sleep between work shifts, and use of efficient sleepiness countermeasures (SCM) in association with night and non-night shift, a total of 53 truck drivers operating from southern Finland were allocated into an intervention and a control group using a stratified random…
On-Road Study of Fatigue Management Strategies in Long-Haul Truck Drivers
The current study investigated what strategies long-haul truck drivers use to mitigate fatigue at the wheel. A group of 52 truck drivers participated in the study in which drivers’ fatigue at the wheel was measured by a well-validated self-rating scale (the Karolinska Sleepiness Scale) and the use of fatigue countermeasures by a diary for a period of two consecutive workweeks including day and night-time trips. Results showed that the drivers more frequently used fatigue countermeasures while fatigued at the wheel but most of these countermeasures, with the exception of caffeine, can be regarded as inefficient (e.g., opening a window). The results indicate that long-haul truck drivers resp…
Sleepiness, sleep, and use of sleepiness countermeasures in shift-working long-haul truck drivers
Driver sleepiness is a prevalent phenomenon among professional drivers working unconventional and irregular hours. For compromising occupational and traffic safety, sleepiness has become one of the major conundrums of road transportation. To further elucidate the phenomenon, an on-road study canvassing the under-explored relationship between working hours and sleepiness, sleep, and use of sleepiness countermeasures during and outside statutory rest breaks was conducted. Testing the association between the outcomes and working hours, generalized estimating equations models were fitted on a data collected from 54 long-haul truck drivers (mean 38.1 ± 10.5 years, one female) volunteering in the…
Sleep, alertness and alertness management among commercial airline pilots on short-haul and long-haul flights
Item does not contain fulltext Airline pilots' sleep and on-duty alertness are important focus areas in commercial aviation. Until now, studies pertaining to this topic have mainly focused on specific characteristics of flights and thus a comprehensive picture of the matter is not well established. In addition, research knowledge of what airline pilots actually do to maintain their alertness while being on duty is scarce. To address these gaps in research knowledge, we conducted a field study on a representative sample of the airline pilots of a medium-sized airline. The sample consisted of 90 pilots, of whom 30 flew long-haul (LH) routes, 30 short-haul (SH) routes, and 30 flew both. A tota…
Are long-haul truck drivers unusually alert? A comparison with long-haul airline pilots.
Abstract Background Recent studies suggest heavy vehicle drivers self-estimate their sleepiness unexpectedly low during night duties. The present study compared sleepiness ratings of long-haul truck drivers with those of long-haul airline pilots during night and non-night duties. In addition, the correspondence between self-rated manifest and predicted latent sleepiness was examined in the two groups. Methods Twenty-two drivers and 33 pilots participated. Their working hours, sleep, on-duty sleepiness, and use of sleepiness countermeasures were measured in naturalistic conditions. Predictions of latent sleepiness were based on the measurements of working hours and sleep using the Sleep/Wake…