Train drivers' sleep and alertness during short relay operations.
Within Australia, there has been a recent expansion of relay working operations. To address concerns about the amount of sleep obtained by drivers in relay vans, and potential deficits in alertness associated with relay work, the current study assessed the sleep behaviour and alertness of 15 train drivers working short (<48 h) relay operations. In total, drivers obtained 8-12h of sleep during the relay trip (which took approx 40 h). Overall, they reported that they felt more alert following each sleep period. Drivers were able to sustain attention during the 10-min vigilance tasks administered before and after each shift. These findings suggest that the amount of sleep obtained in crew vans during short relay operations is sufficient to maintain alertness during the trip. They also emphasise the importance of scheduling shifts to maximise the number of sleep opportunities that occur between 2200 and 0700 h.
Lamond
Nicole
N
The Centre for Sleep Research, The University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA, Australia. nicole.lamond@unisa.edu.au
Darwent
David
D
Dawson
Drew
D
D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001315:Australia; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018670:Monitoring, Ambulatory; D011890:Railroads; D012890:Sleep / Q000502:physiology*; D013997:Time Factors; D014851:Wakefulness / Q000502:physiology*; D014940:Work Schedule Tolerance