Operational assessment of the 5-h on/10-h off watchstanding schedule on a US Navy ship: sleep patterns, mood and psychomotor vigilance performance of crewmembers in the nuclear reactor department
Loading...
Authors
Shattuck, Nita Lewis
Matsangas, Panagiotis
Subjects
Shiftwork
Sleep deprivation
Fatigue
Shiftworking
Watchstanding schedules
Work scheduling
Circadian misalignment
Sleep deprivation
Fatigue
Shiftworking
Watchstanding schedules
Work scheduling
Circadian misalignment
Advisors
Date of Issue
2016
Date
Publisher
Taylor & Francis
Language
Abstract
We assessed sleep patterns, psychomotor vigilance performance, work demands and mood of
77 crewmembers of USS NIMITZ (CVN-68) on the rotating 5-h on/10-h off (5/10) watchstanding schedule. Within the 3-day cycle of the 5/10, sleep occurred at distinctly different times each day. On two of these days, sailors typically received only brief, 4-h sleep episodes followed by periods of
sustained wakefulness (approximately 22 and 20 h). Crewmembers received approximately seven hours
of sleep daily, but reported excessive fatigue and dissatisfaction with their schedule.
Crewmembers’ mood worsened significantly over the course of the underway phase. Psychomotor
vigilance performance (reaction times, lapses) was significantly degraded compared to performance
when working circadian-aligned schedules. Overall, standing watch on the 5/10 schedule, combined
with other work duties, resulted in poor sleep hygiene. Crewmembers on the 5/10 experienced
periodic bouts of sustained wakefulness and accrued a significant sleep debt due to extended
workdays and circadian-misaligned sleep.
Type
Article
Description
The article of record as published may be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00140139.2015.1073794
Series/Report No
Department
Operations Research (OR)
Organization
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.)
Identifiers
NPS Report Number
Sponsors
US Navy's Twenty-first Century Sailor Office
Naval Medical Research Center Advanced Medical Development Program
Naval Medical Research Center Advanced Medical Development Program
Funder
Format
8 p.
Citation
N.L. Shattuck, P. Matsangas, "Operational assessment of the 5-h on/10-h off watchstanding schedule on a US Navy ship: sleep patterns, mood and psychomotor vigilance performance of crewmembers in the nuclear reactor department," Ergonomics, v.59, no.5 (2016), pp. 657-664.
Distribution Statement
Rights
This publication is a work of the U.S. Government as defined in Title 17, United States Code, Section 101. Copyright protection is not available for this work in the United States.