Alertness Management in Flight Operations: Strategic Napping

Strategic napping in two different flight operation environments is considered to illustrate its application as a fatigue countermeasure. Data obtained from commercial short-haul and long-haul operations demonstrated the utility and current practices of strategic napping. A preplanned cockpit nap acted as an acute 'safety valve' for the sleep loss, circadian disruption, and fatigue that occurs in long-haul flying.

[1]  A N Nicholson,et al.  Sustained performance with short evening and morning sleeps. , 1985, Aviation, space, and environmental medicine.

[2]  B B Morgan,et al.  Effects of continuous work and sleep loss in the reduction and recovery of work efficiency. , 1974, American Industrial Hygiene Association journal.

[3]  David F. Dinges,et al.  Are you awake? Cognitive performance and reverie during the hypnopompic state. , 1990 .

[4]  R C Graeber,et al.  International cooperative study of aircrew layover sleep: operational summary. , 1986, Aviation, space, and environmental medicine.

[5]  S H Strogatz,et al.  The mathematical structure of the human sleep-wake cycle , 1986 .

[6]  P. Opstad,et al.  Performance, mood, and clinical symptoms in men exposed to prolonged, severe physical work and sleep deprivation. , 1978, Aviation, space, and environmental medicine.

[7]  Paul Naitoh,et al.  Napping and Human Functioning during Prolonged Work , 1987 .

[8]  T. Roth,et al.  The alerting effects of naps in sleep-deprived subjects. , 1986, Psychophysiology.

[9]  Haslam Dr.  The military performance of soldiers in sustained operations. , 1984 .

[10]  Mats Gillberg,et al.  The effects of two alternative timings of a one-hour nap on early morning performance , 1984, Biological Psychology.

[11]  Bonnet Mh,et al.  The effect of varying prophylactic naps on performance, alertness and mood throughout a 52-hour continuous operation. , 1991 .

[12]  M. Orne,et al.  Temporal placement of a nap for alertness: contributions of circadian phase and prior wakefulness. , 1987, Sleep.

[13]  M. Orne,et al.  The benefits of a nap during prolonged work and wakefulness , 1988 .

[14]  Kevin B. Gregory,et al.  Crew factors in flight operations. 8: Factors influencing sleep timing and subjective sleep quality in commercial long-haul flight crews , 1991 .