Office of Aerospace Medicine Technical Reports
FAA Office of Aerospace Medicine
Civil Aerospace Medical Institute
Report No: DOT/FAA/AM-75/10
Title and Subtitle: The effects of a 12-hour shift in the wake-sleep cycle on the physiological and biochemical responses and on multiple-task performance
Report Date: October 1975
Authors: Higgins EA, Chiles WD, McKenzie JM, Iampietro PF, Winget CM, Funkhouser GE, Burr MJ, Vaughan JA, Jennings AE
Abstract: Fifteen male paid volunteers (ages 20 to 28) were studied in three groups of five each. The first 4 days of the experiment they slept nights (2230 to 0600( and worked days. On the fifth night, they slept only 3 hours (2100 to 2400) before starting a 10-day period in which the wake-sleep cycle was altered by 12 hours. According to the subjective fatigue index, the total fatigue for the awake periods was not significantly changed; however, the times within days for greatest fatigue were altered and 9 days were required for a complete reversal of the daily pattern. from shortest to longest mean rephasal times, these were; heart rate, norepinephrine, epinephrine, potassium, sodium, internal body temperature, and 17-ketogenic steroids.
Performance data based on the Civil Aeromedical Institute Multiple Task Performance Battery suggest the following:
Key Words: Circadian rhythms, Complex Performance, Heart Rate, Rectal Temperature, Urinary Stress Indicators, Wake-Sleep Cycles
No. of Pages: 28
Civil Aerospace Medical Institute
Report No: DOT/FAA/AM-75/10
Title and Subtitle: The effects of a 12-hour shift in the wake-sleep cycle on the physiological and biochemical responses and on multiple-task performance
Report Date: October 1975
Authors: Higgins EA, Chiles WD, McKenzie JM, Iampietro PF, Winget CM, Funkhouser GE, Burr MJ, Vaughan JA, Jennings AE
Abstract: Fifteen male paid volunteers (ages 20 to 28) were studied in three groups of five each. The first 4 days of the experiment they slept nights (2230 to 0600( and worked days. On the fifth night, they slept only 3 hours (2100 to 2400) before starting a 10-day period in which the wake-sleep cycle was altered by 12 hours. According to the subjective fatigue index, the total fatigue for the awake periods was not significantly changed; however, the times within days for greatest fatigue were altered and 9 days were required for a complete reversal of the daily pattern. from shortest to longest mean rephasal times, these were; heart rate, norepinephrine, epinephrine, potassium, sodium, internal body temperature, and 17-ketogenic steroids.
Performance data based on the Civil Aeromedical Institute Multiple Task Performance Battery suggest the following:
- There was evidence of diurnal variation during the preshift period.
- There were decrements on the day of the shift following the short sleep period.
- Performance during the first 3 days following the shift was relatively high for most of the day but was relatively poor in the final session of the day.
- Performance on the fourth through sixth postshift days was average or above average for the experiment with relatively small variations among the five test sessions per day.
- Performance on the seventh through ninth postshift days was below average for the experiment and showed some evidence of a return to a diurnal cycling pattern with a new peak period of performance that reflected the 12-hour shift in the wake-sleep schedule.
Key Words: Circadian rhythms, Complex Performance, Heart Rate, Rectal Temperature, Urinary Stress Indicators, Wake-Sleep Cycles
No. of Pages: 28
Last updated: Friday, June 1, 2012