title: Does Suspected Sleep Disordered Breathing Impact on the Sleep and Performance of Firefighting Volunteers during a Simulated Fire Ground Campaign?
abstract: Adequate sleep is fundamental to workplace performance. For volunteer firefighters who work in safety critical roles, poor performance at work can be life threatening. Extended shifts and sleeping conditions negatively impact sleep during multi-day fire suppression campaigns. Having sleep disordered breathing (SDB) could contribute further to sleep deficits. Our aim was to investigate whether those with suspected SDB slept and performed more poorly during a fire ground simulation involving sleep restriction. Participants, n = 20 participated in a 3-day-4-night fire ground simulation. Based on oximetry desaturation index data collected during their participation, participants were retrospectively allocated to either a SDB (n = 8) or a non-SDB group (n = 12). The simulation began with an 8 h Baseline sleep (BL) followed by two nights of restricted (4 h) sleep and an 8 h recovery sleep (R). All sleeps were recorded using a standard electroencephalography (EEG) montage as well as oxygen saturation. During the day, participants completed neurobehavioral (response time, lapses and subjective fatigue) tasks. Mixed effects ANOVA were used to compare differences in sleep and wake variables. Analyses revealed a main effect of group for Total sleep (TST), REM , wake after sleep onset (WASO) and Arousals/h with the SDB group obtaining less TST and REM and greater WASO and Arousals/h. The group × night interaction was significant for N3 with the SDB group obtaining 42 min less during BL. There was a significant main effect of day for RRT, lapses and subjective fatigue and a significant day × group interaction for RRT. Overall, the SDB group slept less, experienced more disturbed sleep and had poorer response time performance, which was exacerbated by the second night of sleep restriction. This could present a safety concern, particularly during longer campaigns and is worthy of further investigation. In addition, we would recommend promotion of awareness of SDB, its symptoms and potential impact among volunteers and relevant agencies.
authors: Central Queensland University, Appleton Institute, Wayville 5034, South Australia. s.jay@cqu.edu.au.
authors: Sarah M
authors: SM
authors: Jay
authors: Central Queensland University, Appleton Institute, Wayville 5034, South Australia. b.p.smith@cqu.edu.au.
authors: Bradley P
authors: BP
authors: Smith
authors: Central Queensland University, Appleton Institute, Wayville 5034, South Australia. samantha.windler1980@gmail.com.
authors: Samantha
authors: S
authors: Windler
authors: Centre for Sleep Research, University of South Australia, Adelaide 5000, South Australia. jill.dorrian@unisa.edu.au.
authors: Jillian
authors: J
authors: Dorrian
authors: Central Queensland University, Appleton Institute, Wayville 5034, South Australia. sally.ferguson@cqu.edu.au.
authors: Sally A
authors: SA
authors: Ferguson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005221:Fatigue / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D061388:Firefighters; D005390:Fires; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000523:psychology; D017286:Polysomnography; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012891:Sleep Apnea Syndromes / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D012892:Sleep Deprivation / Q000209:etiology* / Q000523:psychology; D014838:Volunteers; D000066477:Work Performance
keywords: fatigue; firefighters; obstructive sleep apnea; performance; sleep; sleep disordered breathing