Field Monitoring the Effects of Overnight Shift Work on Specialist Tactical Police Training with Heart Rate Variability Analysis

Abstract

Police work exposes officers to high levels of stress. Special emergency response team (SERT) service exposes personnel to additional demands. Specifically, the circadian cycles of SERT operators are subject to disruption, resulting in decreased capacity to compensate in response to changing demands. Adaptive regulation loss can be measured through heart rate variability (HRV) analysis. While HRV Trends with health and performance indicators, few studies have assessed the effect of overnight shift work on HRV in specialist police. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the effects overnight shift work on HRV in specialist police. HRV was analysed in 11 SERT officers and a significant (p = 0.037) difference was found in pRR50 levels across the training day (percentage of R-R intervals varying by >50 ms) between those who were off-duty and those who were on duty the night prior. HRV may be a valuable metric for quantifying load holistically and can be incorporated into health and fitness monitoring and personnel allocation decision making.

Heart Rate Variability Assessment of Land Navigation and Load Carriage Activities in Specialist Police Selection

“…While one investigation specific to the law enforcement profession did not find significant relationships between intolerance of uncertainty and physiological response as measured specifically by mean heart rate [61], HRV was not specifically analysed; only HR was reported in the referenced work, and therefore the greater sensitivity provided by HRV may be crucial in this assessment strategy. Indeed, HRV analysis, potentially including heat map interpretations, may yield more information than HR alone [38].…”

“…For these reasons, HRV monitoring has been utilized with increasing frequency in military [26], fire [36], and rescue populations [37]. However, its application in the specific context of PTG selection remains subject to limited inquiry [38]. Therefore, the aim of this study was to (1) pragmatically implement wearable HRV monitoring during prolonged load carriage events conducted during PTG selection, (2) provide data in an easily accessible format, and (3) determine if the data could be used to assess candidate attrition.…”

Applicability of Physiological Monitoring Systems within Occupational Groups: A Systematic Review

“…Miners and steelworkers are regularly exposed to high heat conditions [1,2]. Police officers and other first responders are called with little to no notice into situations of extreme danger and physiological stress [3]. Firefighters and soldiers often wear personal protective equipment that imposes additional thermal burdens from insulation and additional carried weight [4][5][6] and are exposed to high physical, mental and emotional stress levels for prolonged periods [7].…”

“…Firefighters and soldiers often wear personal protective equipment that imposes additional thermal burdens from insulation and additional carried weight [4][5][6] and are exposed to high physical, mental and emotional stress levels for prolonged periods [7]. In general, these high-risk professions are repeatedly subjected to operations in austere environments and dysregulated sleep [3]. On the other hand, limited by the natural environment factors (e.g., construction workers [8]) or indoors cold exposure conditions (e.g., food industry workers [9]), some professions develop strenuous work while regularly exposed to thermal stress.…”

Heart rate variability profile changes associated with specialist police selection activities: A case study

“…Because these qualities are not necessarily exclusive to domains of physical performance or fitness, consideration of metrics sensitive to psychosocial influences may provide additional value to selection staff interested in holistic assessment of candidates (5,6). Heart Rate Variability (HRV), the computational analysis of moment-to-moment changes in heart activity imposed primarily by autonomic nervous system (ANS) activity, has been demonstrated as a useful technology in the assessment of tactical personnel for assessing cognitive load and demand faced in high-stress environments (7)(8)(9)(10). Wearable technologies have allowed for high-fidelity electrocardiogram (ECG) monitoring of ambulatory personnel in a wide variety of occupational contexts, including tactical environments (6,11).…”