FAA Office of Aerospace Medicine
Civil Aerospace Medical Institute

Report No: DOT/FAA/AM-65/30

Title and Subtitle: Phase shifts of the human circadian system and performance deficit during the periods of transition: III, North-South flight.

Report Date: December 1965

Authors: Hauty GT, Adams T.

Abstract: At periodic intervals throughout the biological day, biomedical assessments were made for a week prior to jet flight to Santiago, Chile, for 12 days at Santiago, and for a week following return to Washington, D.C. Although previous East-West and West-East flight effected a primary shift of circadian periodicity, as manifested by physiological functions, the North-South flight did not.

There was, however, a significant increase of subjective fatigue, as in the other flights. The significant impairment of psychological performance produced by the East-West but not the West-East flight was not shown by the North-South flight.

Key Words: biological rhythms, aviation medicine, performance (human), flight, fatigue(physiology), medical examination, medical research.

No. of Pages: 12