Sleep complaints and fatigue of airline pilots

Reis, Cátia; Mestre, Catarina; Canhão, Helena; Gradwell, David; Paiva, Teresa

doi:10.1016/j.slsci.2016.05.003

Cited by 49 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“… 9 Consequently, these conditions may have unexplored impacts on the health behaviors of airline pilots. Vocational requirements of airline pilots present health risks, such as circadian disruption due to shift work and flight schedules, 10 fatigue induced by flight schedules, 11 irregular meal times, mental stress demands associated with flight safety, 12 and the sedentary nature of the job. 13 Circadian disruption is detrimental to acute physiological 14 and psychological 15 health metrics and is associated with elevated risk for some chronic conditions such as cardiovascular disease.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effectiveness of a 17-week lifestyle intervention on health behaviors among airline pilots during COVID-19

Driller

Johnston

Gill

2021

Journal of Sport and Health Science

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Purpose The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of a 17-week, 3-component lifestyle intervention for enhancing health behaviors during the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Methods A parallel-group (intervention and control) study was conducted amongst 79 airline pilots over a 17-week period during the COVID-19 pandemic. The intervention group ( n = 38) received a personalized sleep, dietary, and physical activity (PA) program. The control group ( n = 41) received no intervention. Outcome measures for sleep, fruit and vegetable intake, PA, and subjective health were measured though an online survey before and after the 17-week period. The changes in outcome measures were used to determine the efficacy of the intervention. Results Significant main effects for Time × Group were found for International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Walk ( p = 0.02) and for all other outcome measures ( p < 0.01). The intervention group significantly improved in sleep duration ( p < 0.01; d = 1.02), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index score ( p < 0.01; d = –1.01), moderate-to-vigorous PA ( p < 0.01; d = 1.32), fruit and vegetable intake ( p < 0.01; d = 3.11), Short-Form-12v2 physical score ( p < 0.01; d = 1.84), and Short-Form-12v2 mental score ( p < 0.01; d = 2.69). The control group showed significant negative change for sleep duration ( p < 0.01; d = –0.47), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index score ( p < 0.01; d = 0.28), and Short-Form-12v2 mental score ( p < 0.01; d = –0.64). Conclusion Results provide preliminary evidence that a 3-component healthy sleep, eating and PA intervention elicit improvements in health behaviors and perceived subjective health in pilots and may improve quality of life during an unprecedented global pandemic.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effectiveness of a 17-week lifestyle intervention on health behaviors among airline pilots during COVID-19

Driller

Johnston

Gill

2021

Journal of Sport and Health Science

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“…Pilots’ attempts to protect their careers through non-disclosure of their symptoms prevents them from receiving proper treatment. Airline pilots also reported heightened self-rated fatigue and irregular sleep during international flights [6,7].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Heart Rate Variability and Performance of Commercial Airline Pilots during Flight Simulations

Cao

MacNaughton

Cadet

et al. 2019

IJERPH

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Pilots undergo a variety of stressors that may affect their performance during all phases of flight. Heart rate variability (HRV) has been considered as a reliable indicator of the parasympathetic and sympathetic activities of human autonomic nervous system, which can be used to characterize the sympathetic stress response of pilots during flight. In this study, thirty active commercial airline pilots were recruited to fly three flight segments in a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)-certified A320 flight simulator with each segment at a different carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration on the flight deck. The pilots performed a series of maneuvers of varying difficulty, and their performance was evaluated by FAA designated pilot examiners. The HRV metrics (SDNN, RMSSD and LF/HF ratio) of each pilot both before and during flight simulations were measured with a Movisens EcgMove3 sensor. The average SDNN, RMSSD and LF/HF ratio of the pilots during flight simulations were 34.1 ± 12.7 ms, 23.8 ± 10.2 ms and 5.7 ± 2.8 respectively. Decreased HRV was associated with aging, obesity and performing difficult maneuvers. Both CO2 exposure and HRV had an independent effect on the pilot performance, while their interaction was not significant. The generalized additive mixed effect model results showed that a pilot performed better on a maneuver when his stress response was lower, as indicated by higher SDNN and RMSSD and lower LF/HF ratio. An interquartile range (IQR) increase in SDNN (21.97 ms) and RMSSD (16.00 ms) and an IQR decrease in LF/HF ratio (4.69) was associated with an increase in the odds of passing a maneuver by 37%, 22% and 20%, respectively.

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“…For instance, insomnia is highly prevalent in military personnel, with pre-deployment insomnia putting military employees at higher risk of developing psychiatric symptoms after deployment (Gehrman et al, 2013). Sleep problems are also highly prevalent in commercial airline pilots (Reis, Mestre, Canhao, Gradwell, & Paiva, 2016), while pre-existing sleep problems in airline crewmembers have been associated to affected operational performance and increased error rates (Thomas & Ferguson, 2010).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The results of this study have implications for usage of simulation techniques to assess daytime functioning and training in clinical and professional settings. Insomnia is highly prevalent in military personnel (Gehrman et al, 2013;Klingaman, Brownlow, Boland, Mosti, & Gehrman, 2017), while sleep problems are also highly prevalent in airline pilots (Reis et al, 2016) and have been associated to affected operational performance (Thomas & Ferguson, 2010). The assessment and treatment of pre-existing sleep problems in military and aviation personnel is thus vital to prevent not only operational errors and psychiatric problems, but also oculomotor and nausea symptoms in simulation environments used for their training.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How sleep problems contribute to simulator sickness: Preliminary results from a realistic driving scenario

Altena¹,

Daviaux²,

Sanz-Arigita

et al. 2018

Journal of Sleep Research

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Virtual reality and simulation tools enable us to assess daytime functioning in environments that simulate real life as close as possible. Simulator sickness, however, poses a problem in the application of these tools, and has been related to pre-existing health problems. How sleep problems contribute to simulator sickness has not yet been investigated. In the current study, 20 female chronic insomnia patients and 32 female age-matched controls drove in a driving simulator covering realistic city, country and highway scenes. Fifty percent of the insomnia patients as opposed to 12.5% of controls reported excessive simulator sickness leading to experiment withdrawal. In the remaining participants, patients with insomnia showed overall increased levels of oculomotor symptoms even before driving, while nausea symptoms further increased after driving. These results, as well as the realistic simulation paradigm developed, give more insight on how vestibular and oculomotor functions as well as interoceptive functions are affected in insomnia. Importantly, our results have direct implications for both the actual driving experience and the wider context of deploying simulation techniques to mimic real life functioning, in particular in those professions often exposed to sleep problems.

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Sleep complaints and fatigue of airline pilots

Cited by 49 publications

References 14 publications

The effectiveness of a 17-week lifestyle intervention on health behaviors among airline pilots during COVID-19

The effectiveness of a 17-week lifestyle intervention on health behaviors among airline pilots during COVID-19

Heart Rate Variability and Performance of Commercial Airline Pilots during Flight Simulations

How sleep problems contribute to simulator sickness: Preliminary results from a realistic driving scenario

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