OBJECTIVES: This study assessed the utility of a combined field and laboratory research design for measuring the impact of consecutive night shift work on the sleepiness, vigilance, and driving performance of police patrol officers. DESIGN: For police patrol officers working their normal night shift duty cycles, simulated driving performance and psychomotor vigilance were measured in a laboratory on two separate occasions: in the morning after the last of five consecutive 10.7-h night shifts, and at the same time in the morning after three consecutive days off duty. Order of participation in conditions was randomized among subjects. SETTING: Subjects experienced manipulation of sleep schedules due to working night shifts in a real operational environment, but performance testing was conducted under controlled laboratory conditions. PARTICIPANTS: N = 29 active-duty police patrol officers (27 male, 2 female; age 37.1 ± 6.3 years) working night shift schedules participated in this study. RESULTS:Simulated driving performance, psychomotor vigilance, and subjective sleepiness were significantly degraded following 5 consecutive night shifts as compared to 3 consecutive days off duty, indicating that active-duty police officers are susceptible to performance degradation as a consequence of working nights. CONCLUSIONS: This combined field and laboratory research design succeeded in bridging the gap between the realism of the operational environment and the control of laboratory performance testing, demonstrating that this is a useful approach for addressing the relationship between shift work induced fatigue and critical operational task performance.
RCT Entities:
OBJECTIVES: This study assessed the utility of a combined field and laboratory research design for measuring the impact of consecutive night shift work on the sleepiness, vigilance, and driving performance of police patrol officers. DESIGN: For police patrol officers working their normal night shift duty cycles, simulated driving performance and psychomotor vigilance were measured in a laboratory on two separate occasions: in the morning after the last of five consecutive 10.7-h night shifts, and at the same time in the morning after three consecutive days off duty. Order of participation in conditions was randomized among subjects. SETTING: Subjects experienced manipulation of sleep schedules due to working night shifts in a real operational environment, but performance testing was conducted under controlled laboratory conditions. PARTICIPANTS: N = 29 active-duty police patrol officers (27 male, 2 female; age 37.1 ± 6.3 years) working night shift schedules participated in this study. RESULTS: Simulated driving performance, psychomotor vigilance, and subjective sleepiness were significantly degraded following 5 consecutive night shifts as compared to 3 consecutive days off duty, indicating that active-duty police officers are susceptible to performance degradation as a consequence of working nights. CONCLUSIONS: This combined field and laboratory research design succeeded in bridging the gap between the realism of the operational environment and the control of laboratory performance testing, demonstrating that this is a useful approach for addressing the relationship between shift work induced fatigue and critical operational task performance.
Entities:
Keywords:
Night and shift work; high fidelity driving simulator; motor vehicle crash risk; operational performance; performance impairment; police; psychomotor vigilance test (PVT); research design; subjective sleepiness
Authors: Shantha M W Rajaratnam; Laura K Barger; Steven W Lockley; Steven A Shea; Wei Wang; Christopher P Landrigan; Conor S O'Brien; Salim Qadri; Jason P Sullivan; Brian E Cade; Lawrence J Epstein; David P White; Charles A Czeisler Journal: JAMA Date: 2011-12-21 Impact factor: 56.272
Authors: Jared H Hornsby; Brittany L Johnson; Donald P Meckley; Anna Blackley; Will W Peveler; Jeffrey N Lowes; J Jay Dawes Journal: Int J Exerc Sci Date: 2021-04-01
Authors: Desta Fekedulegn; Cecil M Burchfiel; Claudia C Ma; Michael E Andrew; Tara A Hartley; Luenda E Charles; Ja K Gu; John M Violanti Journal: J Safety Res Date: 2016-12-08
Authors: Desta Fekedulegn; Cecil M Burchfiel; Luenda E Charles; Tara A Hartley; Michael E Andrew; John M Violanti Journal: J Occup Environ Med Date: 2016-03 Impact factor: 2.162
Authors: John M Violanti; Luenda E Charles; Erin McCanlies; Tara A Hartley; Penelope Baughman; Michael E Andrew; Desta Fekedulegn; Claudia C Ma; Anna Mnatsakanova; Cecil M Burchfiel Journal: Policing Date: 2017-11
Authors: Denise M D Özdemir-van Brunschot; Andries J Hoitsma; Michel F P van der Jagt; Frank C d'Ancona; Rogier A R T Donders; Cees J H M van Laarhoven; Luuk B Hilbrands; Michiel C Warlé Journal: World J Urol Date: 2015-09-14 Impact factor: 4.226