Work at sea: a study of sleep, and of circadian rhythms in physiological and psychological functions, in watchkeepers on merchant vessels

Fletcher, N.; Wp, Colquhoun; Knauth, Peter; D, De Vol; Plett, R

doi:10.1007/bf00381607

Cited by 5 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…Sleep duration and quality in at-sea operations have been evaluated in several European studies, including Rutenfranz et al (1988) and Fletcher et al (1988). They found that watchkeepers had a lower average sleep duration than dayworkers, and that third officers (08.00-12.00 watch) reported the lowest quality and amount of sleep.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Work hours, sleep patterns and fatigue among merchant marine personnel

Sanquist

Raby

Forsythe

et al. 1997

Journal of Sleep Research

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SUMMARY A field study ofwork and sleep patterns among commercial merchant marine personnel is reported. Data collected over a 10-30-d period from 141 subjects aboard eight ships included information concerning work-rest schedules, sleep timing, alertness on the job and critical fatigue. The data indicate that watchstanders on the 4-on, 8-off schedule show considerable disruption in their sleep. The average sleep duration for all mariners is 6.6 h; watchstanders obtain their sleep in fragmented periods that are frequently less than 5 h in duration. Analysis of critical fatigue shows an incidence of 1 --240/0 across personnel and measures. Of particular concern are the watchstanders on the 04.00-08.00 schedule, who sleep less than 4 h per 24-h period 22% of the time.Potential countermeasures, including changes in scheduling and staffing are proposed.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Work hours, sleep patterns and fatigue among merchant marine personnel

Sanquist

Raby

Forsythe

et al. 1997

Journal of Sleep Research

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…This might adversely affect the performance capacity of watchkeepers (Plett et al, 1988). In order to reduce this effect, there have been studies with alternative proposals to the traditional four-on/eight-off watchkeeping system, but the findings have not been conclusive (Fletcher et al, 1988).…”

Section: Sea Watches On Board and The Circadian Disordersmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of circadian rhythms on shipping accidents

2021

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It is a well-known fact that humans are subject to circadian alterations caused by the action of sunlight. This strongly affects their behaviour and skill, making them change their level of alertness from high at daytime to low at night-time. Taking into account this biological feature, and considering that commercial shipping is one of the oldest round-the-clock activities, raises the question whether bridge watchkeepers can carry out their tasks on night shifts with the same level of alertness as on day shifts. Furthermore, night bridge watchkeeping has to be performed in darkness or very dim light to improve the visual capacity of lookouts. A sample of vessel collisions was analysed and it was find out that this kind of accident tends to be more frequent and more serious during the darkness period of the solar day.

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“…Evaluations of sleep duration and sleep quality at sea found that, on average, watch keepers had a lower sleep duration than those who worked day shifts [291, 292]. Additionally, research on to merchant marine personnel found that those on watch keeper shifts had critical fatigue levels as often as 24% of the time [293].…”

Section: Fatiguementioning

confidence: 99%

A review of the physiological and psychological health and wellbeing of naval service personnel and the modalities used for monitoring

2017

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Naval cohorts rely heavily on personnel to ensure the efficient running of naval organisations. As such, the wellbeing of personnel is essential. In an occupational setting, naval service personnel experience a variety of physiological and psychological stressors. Most naval services arrange annual physical fitness and body composition tests to ensure the physical readiness of personnel. However, these tests only evaluate a small amount of physiological capabilities. Components such as aerobic and strength capabilities are assessed, however, other components of physical fitness such as speed, agility, anaerobic capacity and flexibility are not. In addition to the physical capabilities, personnel are impacted by fatigue, nutrition and psychological stressors such as copping in stressful situations or dealing with time away from family and friends. This review will discuss the physiological and psychological factors that affect personnel’s wellbeing. In addition to this, it will also evaluate the methods that are used to assess both physiological and psychological wellbeing.

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Work at sea: a study of sleep, and of circadian rhythms in physiological and psychological functions, in watchkeepers on merchant vessels

Cited by 5 publications

References 6 publications

Work hours, sleep patterns and fatigue among merchant marine personnel

Work hours, sleep patterns and fatigue among merchant marine personnel

The effect of circadian rhythms on shipping accidents

A review of the physiological and psychological health and wellbeing of naval service personnel and the modalities used for monitoring

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