Work and sleep hours of U.S. Army aviation personnel working reverse cycle.
A one-page questionnaire was administered to 157 aviation personnel from three Army posts to determine when Army aviation personnel work and sleep while on reverse cycle. This project was undertaken as a first step to developing tailor-made fatigue reduction strategies for shift workers in Army aviation. The results indicated that 97.6% of the surveyed aviation personnel had experience working night shift/reverse cycle at some point in their careers, with 69.4% working the night shift within the past 6 months. Of those who had experience working the night shift, 36.2% reported usually working from early in the afternoon to early in the morning, with 52.2% of personnel returning home by 4:00 a.m.; however, 28.3% arrived home after 8:00 a.m. Almost 62% of the respondents indicated that they did not feel they received adequate daytime sleep some of the time or at all while on reverse cycle/night shift. Research is needed to address the issue of helping aviation personnel sleep during the daylight hours, both for training exercises and for deployment. Once the work/rest schedule for a unit is known, countermeasures such as light therapy or gradual changes in scheduling can be tailored to meet the specific needs of the individual or unit.
Caldwell
J L
JL
Aircrew Health and Performance Division, U.S. Army Aeromedical Research Laboratory, Fort Rucker, AL 36362-0577, USA.
Gilreath
S R
SR
D000328:Adult; D000337:Aerospace Medicine; D000407:Alabama; D005845:Georgia; D006801:Humans; D007629:Kentucky; D008889:Military Personnel; D010561:Personnel Staffing and Scheduling / Q000458:organization & administration; D012648:Self Care / Q000379:methods*; D012890:Sleep; D020178:Sleep Disorders, Circadian Rhythm / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors