"20,000 leagues under the sea": sleep, cognitive performance, and self-reported recovery status during a 67-day military submarine mission
Nieuwenhuys, A.; Dora, J.; Knufinke-Meyfroyt, M.; Beckers, D.; Rietjens, G.; Helmhout, P. (2021). "20,000 leagues under the sea": sleep, cognitive performance, and self-reported recovery status during a 67-day military submarine mission. Applied Ergonomics 91: 103295. https://hdl.handle.net/10.1016/j.apergo.2020.103295
In: Applied Ergonomics. Elsevier SCI Ltd: Oxford. ISSN 0003-6870; e-ISSN 1872-9126, more
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| Author keywords |
Sleep; Psychomotor vigilance; Shift-work |
| Authors | | Top |
- Nieuwenhuys, A.
- Dora, J.
- Knufinke-Meyfroyt, M.
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- Beckers, D.
- Rietjens, G.
- Helmhout, P.
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| Abstract |
Employing a field-based monitoring paradigm, the current study examined day-to-day fluctuations in actigraphy-based sleep recordings, cognitive performance (10-min psychomotor vigilance test; PVT), and self-reported recovery status among 14 submariners throughout a 67-day military mission. Mission averages reflected suboptimal sleep that was of short overall duration (5:46 ± 1:29 h per 24-h day) and relatively low efficiency (82.5 ± 9.9%); suboptimal levels of cognitive performance (PVT mRT = 283 ± 35 ms; PVT response errors = 5.3 ± 4.8); and moderate levels of self-reported recovery. Whilst self-reported recovery status remained stable across mission days, small but consistent day-to-day increases in sleep onset latency and PVT mRT accumulated to reflect meaningful deterioration in sleep and cognitive performance across the entire 67-day mission (i.e., 47% and 16% of the overall mission average, respectively). Future work is required to corroborate the current findings, firmly establish underlying causes, and make evidence-based suggestions for interventions to improve and uphold submariners’ health and performance. |
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