Stop and revive? The effectiveness of nap and active rest breaks for reducing driver sleepiness.

The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of two commonly utilized sleepiness countermeasures: a nap break and an active rest break. The effects of the countermeasures were evaluated by physiological (EEG), subjective, and driving performance measures. Participants completed 2 h of simulated driving, followed by a 15-min nap break or a 15-min active rest break, then completed the final hour of simulated driving. The nap break reduced EEG and subjective sleepiness. The active rest break did not reduce EEG sleepiness, with sleepiness levels eventually increasing, and resulted in an immediate reduction of subjective sleepiness. No difference was found between the two breaks for the driving performance measure. The immediate reduction of subjective sleepiness after the active rest break could leave drivers with erroneous perceptions of their sleepiness, particularly with increases of physiological sleepiness after the break.

[1]  G Kecklund,et al.  The effects of a short daytime nap after restricted night sleep. , 1996, Sleep.

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

[3]  A. Borbély.  A two process model of sleep regulation. , 1982, Human neurobiology.

[4]  David Crundall,et al.  What happens next? Predicting other road users' behaviour as a function of driving experience and processing time , 2009, Ergonomics.

[5]  Mark S. Horswill,et al.  Hazard perception and its relevance for driver licensing , 1999 .

[6]  J. Caldwell,et al.  Body posture affects electroencephalographic activity and psychomotor vigilance task performance in sleep-deprived subjects , 2003, Clinical Neurophysiology.

[7]  Mark Wetton,et al.  Hazard perception in novice and experienced drivers: the effects of sleepiness. , 2009, Accident; analysis and prevention.

[8]  R. Norton,et al.  Driver sleepiness and risk of serious injury to car occupants: population based case control study , 2002, BMJ : British Medical Journal.

[9]  R. T. Pivik,et al.  Guidelines for the recording and quantitative analysis of electroencephalographic activity in research contexts. , 1993, Psychophysiology.

[10]  M. Bonnet,et al.  Sleep latency testing as a time course measure of state arousal , 2005, Journal of sleep research.

[11]  K. Müller,et al.  Recovery of Cognitive Performance from Sleep Debt: Do a Short Rest Pause and a Single Recovery Night Help? , 2008, Chronobiology international.

[12]  M S Horswill,et al.  The development and validation of two complementary measures of drivers' hazard perception ability. , 2010, Accident; analysis and prevention.

[13]  T. Åkerstedt,et al.  Driver sleepiness and individual differences in preferences for countermeasures , 2008, Journal of sleep research.

[14]  L. Lack,et al.  A brief afternoon nap following nocturnal sleep restriction: which nap duration is most recuperative? , 2006, Sleep.

[15]  T. Åkerstedt,et al.  Validation of the Karolinska sleepiness scale against performance and EEG variables , 2006, Clinical Neurophysiology.

[16]  P. Philip,et al.  Effects of a combination of napping and bright light pulses on shift workers' sleepiness at the wheel: a pilot study , 2009, Journal of sleep research.

[17]  D. Dijk,et al.  Effects of sleep inertia after daytime naps vary with executive load and time of day. , 2011, Behavioral neuroscience.

[18]  L. Lack,et al.  The recuperative value of brief and ultra‐brief naps on alertness and cognitive performance , 2002, Journal of sleep research.

[19]  A. R. Quimby,et al.  Perceptual abilities of accident-involved drivers , 1987 .

[20]  G. Kecklund,et al.  Sleepiness and performance of professional drivers in a truck simulator—comparisons between day and night driving , 1996, Journal of sleep research.

[21]  J. Horne,et al.  Counteracting driver sleepiness: effects of napping, caffeine, and placebo. , 1996, Psychophysiology.

[22]  B Wigmore,et al.  Prevalence of driver sleepiness in a random population-based sample of car driving. , 2001, Sleep.

[23]  A. Sadeh,et al.  Activity-based sleep-wake identification: an empirical test of methodological issues. , 1994, Sleep.

[24]  A. Chesson,et al.  The AASM Manual for the Scoring of Sleep and Associated Events: Rules, Terminology, and Techinical Specifications , 2007 .

[25]  D. Pelz,et al.  CAUTION PROFILE AND DRIVING RECORD OF UNDERGRADUATE MALES , 1974 .

[26]  M. Johns,et al.  Validation of a Chinese version of the Epworth sleepiness scale , 2002, Quality of Life Research.

[27]  Torbjörn Åkerstedt,et al.  Operator performance and signs of sleepiness during day and night work in a simulated thermal power plant , 2003 .

[28]  M. Carskadon,et al.  The multiple sleep latency test: what does it measure? , 1982, Sleep.

[29]  T. Åkerstedt,et al.  Effects of Context on Sleepiness Self‐Ratings during Repeated Partial Sleep Deprivation , 2008, Chronobiology International.

[30]  J A Caldwell,et al.  The effects of exercise as a countermeasure for fatigue in sleep-deprived aviators. , 2000, Military psychology : the official journal of the Division of Military Psychology, American Psychological Association.

[31]  W. Dement,et al.  Awareness of sleepiness and ability to predict sleep onset: can drivers avoid falling asleep at the wheel? , 2007, Sleep medicine.

[32]  A E Drummond.  PARADIGM LOST! PARADISE GAINED? AN AUSTRALIAN PERSPECTIVE ON NOVICE DRIVER SAFETY , 2000 .

[33]  L. Lack,et al.  The short-term benefits of brief and long naps following nocturnal sleep restriction. , 2001, Sleep.

[34]  G. Kerr,et al.  The effect of extended wake on postural control in young adults , 2012, Experimental Brain Research.

[35]  Michael G. Lenné,et al.  The Effects of a Nap Opportunity in Quiet and Noisy Environments on Driving Performance , 2004, Chronobiology international.

[36]  Alain Muzet,et al.  Effect of a short nap on the alertness of young drivers: Repercussion on the perception of motorcycles according to extent of the useful visual field of the driver , 2009 .

[37]  J. Redman,et al.  Temporal profile of prolonged, night‐time driving performance: breaks from driving temporarily reduce time‐on‐task fatigue but not sleepiness , 2011, Journal of sleep research.

[38]  Greg Jorgensen,et al.  Napping and nightshift work: Effects of a short nap on psychomotor vigilance and subjective sleepiness in health workers , 2007 .

[39]  M. Johns,et al.  A new method for measuring daytime sleepiness: the Epworth sleepiness scale. , 1991, Sleep.

[40]  Kerry Armstrong,et al.  Managing driver fatigue: education or motivation? , 2010 .

[41]  G. Plazzi,et al.  Italian version of the Epworth sleepiness scale: external validity , 2003, Neurological Sciences.

[42]  André Charles,et al.  Fatigue, sleepiness, and performance in simulated versus real driving conditions. , 2005, Sleep.

[43]  Daniel J Buysse,et al.  The Pittsburgh sleep quality index: A new instrument for psychiatric practice and research , 1989, Psychiatry Research.

[44]  Esko Keskinen,et al.  Does increased confidence among novice drivers imply a decrease in safety? The effects of skid training on slippery road accidents. , 2004, Accident; analysis and prevention.

[45]  P. Enright,et al.  The 6‐min Walk Test: A Quick Measure of Functional Status in Elderly Adults. , 2003, Chest.

[46]  F. McKenna,et al.  Drivers' hazard perception ability: Situation awareness on the road , 2004 .

[47]  J. Horne,et al.  Sleep related vehicle accidents , 1995, BMJ.

[48]  K. Junghanns,et al.  Test-retest reliability and validity of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index in primary insomnia. , 2002, Journal of psychosomatic research.

[49]  A. Gaillard,et al.  The effects of sleep deprivation and incentives on human performance , 1993, Psychological research.

[50]  Torbjörn Åkerstedt,et al.  The effects of asking for verbal ratings of sleepiness on sleepiness and its masking effects on performance , 2007, Clinical Neurophysiology.

[51]  Mark S Horswill,et al.  The hazard perception ability of older drivers. , 2008, The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences.

[52]  T Hori,et al.  The effects of a 20-min nap at noon on sleepiness, performance and EEG activity. , 1999, International journal of psychophysiology : official journal of the International Organization of Psychophysiology.

[53]  M. Andrykowski,et al.  Psychometric evaluation of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. , 1998, Journal of psychosomatic research.

[54]  R. Somsen,et al.  Ocular artifacts in children’s EEG: selection is better than correction , 1998, Biological Psychology.

[55]  กมลทิพย์ หาญผดุงกิจ.  6-Minute Walk Test , 2014 .

[56]  Mark S. Horswill,et al.  Evaluation of screening tests for predicting older driver performance and safety assessed by an on-road test. , 2013, Accident; analysis and prevention.

[57]  D. J. Mullaney,et al.  Automatic sleep/wake identification from wrist activity. , 1992, Sleep.

[58]  T. Åkerstedt,et al.  Subjective and objective sleepiness in the active individual. , 1990, The International journal of neuroscience.

[59]  H O Lisper,et al.  Effects of the length of a rest break and food intake on subsidiary reaction-time performance in an 8-hour driving task. , 1980, The Journal of applied psychology.