1. Warriors Sleep Simulated Hazardous Operational Tasks Laboratory
Stephen James, PhD
Simulated Hazardous Operational Tasks Laboratory
and Sleep and Performance Research Center
Washington State University - Spokane

5. Where?

6. (Upper Gereshk Valley)
Helmand Province
(Upper Gereshk Valley)

7. Helmand Province

8. Casualties

10. Sleep

11. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
SLEEP

12. Managing Fatigue

13. Sleep Stress Nutrition Exercise Health & Wellness Lab…
Steve… (background and research interests)
Lois… (“””””)

14. Research Approach

15. Simulated Hazardous Operational Tasks
Impact of Work Hours on Police Officer Performance, Health & Safety
Simulated Hazardous Operational Tasks
6/16/2018
GOAL:
Understand impact of human factors and training
on operational performance
Human
Factors
Training
Operational
Performance
(c) Bryan Vila, Ph.D.

16. Fatigue vs. Alcohol Impairment
Studies compared effects of
fatigue vs. alcohol on:
Alertness
Results:
Cognition
17-19 hours awake = .05% BAC
Hand-eye coordination
24 hours awake = .10% BAC
Task speed
Task accuracy
Source: Williamson & Feyer 2000, Dawson & Reid 1997, Rohrs 1994

17. Insufficient sleep degrades brain function:
Humans
Insufficient sleep degrades brain function:
Increases lapses in attention
Reduces signal quality in the brain

18. Fatigue & Decision Making
Fatigue interferes with our ability to:
Form sound judgments
Deal with complex, stressful situations
Assess our own fatigue-related impairment
Hold items in short term memory

19. Fatigue & Decision Making
Fatigue also:
Narrows perception
Increases anxiety and fearfulness
Reduces perspective and understanding
Degrades cognitive ability
Increases irritability and hostility

20. Drowsy Driving
Drowsy driving collisions on way home are common—and often deadly—among shift workers.
On January 22, 2012, Officer Adalberto Ponce of the Indio Area was traveling home on his personal
motorcycle after a 12-hour shift when he was involved in a very serious accident. Officer Ponce failed to
notice a truck tractor combination ahead of him traveling at a much slower speed. Officer Ponce fell asleep
while riding his motorcycle and ran directly into the back of the trailer without braking.

21. Chronic Sleep Deprivation elevates risks of:
Life-long Fatigue
Chronic Sleep Deprivation elevates risks of:
Cardiovascular, gastrointestinal and metabolic diseases
Psychological disorders, depression, suicide and family dysfunction
Chronic insomnia, sleep apnea and other sleep disorders

22. Sleep Management & Athletic Performance
2014 Winter Olympics

23. Sleep Management & Operational Performance

24. Alegedly only required 4 hours sleep a night
Sleep cycles through 5 phases, phase I – Alpha (falling asleep), phase II – theta (lightly asleep), phase III and IV – delta (deeply asleep), phase V – REM (dream sleep).
Does any one here suffer from insomnia?
Actually research shows that “core” sleep – made up of phase III and IV or slow wave / deep sleep – can be obtained in 5 and a half hours, making this the typical minimum amount required for functioning)

25. Strong age differences
Newborns – 16 to 18 hours, ten year olds – 10 hours, teenagers – 8-9 hours, middle age – 7 hours, seventies onwards – 6 and a half hours

26. Strong individual differences
Sleep Hygiene
Duration
On average 6 ½ to 8 ½ hours
Naps count!
Strong individual differences
Naps ideally 30 mins – don’t go over 40 mins or you’ll be into slow wave or “deep” sleep, which is hard to wake from and leads to sleep inertia.

28. Human Circadian Rhythms
Body Temperature
Stress Hormone
Growth Hormone

29. Alertness
Alert
Drowsy
Midnight
Noon
Midnight

30. Hours of Sleep Obtained by Time of Sleep Onset
Duration in Hours
Source: Smiley, 1998

31. Comfortable sleeping environment Monitor for excessive sleepiness
Sleep Hygiene
Quality
Comfortable sleeping environment
Monitor for excessive sleepiness
Monitor snoring
Screen for sleep disorders if necessary
Dark, quiet room, good quality mattress, Not too warm, no distractions
Excessive sleepiness… particularly following days off when you should be caught up on sleep
Most common sleep disorder in the general population is insomnia
Common sleep disorder in LE – Sleep Apnea

32. Where possible keep regular sleep/nap routine
Sleep Hygiene
Phase
Where possible keep regular sleep/nap routine
Get light exposure for 30 minutes upon waking
Avoid light exposure for 30 minutes before bed
Body temperature
Circadian lows = 02:00 04:00 & 14:00 16:00
Circadian highs = 12:00 & 18:00
Light exposure – sun is best (100,000 lux at noon, compared to 500 in a light bulb) but artificial light boxes are great too
Light avoidance – sunglasses if outdoors, dim lighting indoors
Body temperature – you sleep when your body temp drops and wake when it rises
Wakefullness system (circadian cycle)
Sleep system (homeostatic pressure)

33. Where possible establish a sleep routine Nap strategically
Sleep Hygiene
Key Recommendations:
Where possible establish a sleep routine
Nap strategically
Monitor “sleep debt” and catch up
Limit technology before bed
Allow sufficient time to wind down after shift
Sleep routine – using circadian highs and lows
Nap – using circadian highs and lows, limit to mins
Healthy sleepers will catch up quicker, because the body will transition to phase III, IV and V (or “core” sleep) right away

34. Limit alcohol, tobacco, & caffeine before bed
Sleep Hygiene
Key Recommendations:
Limit alcohol, tobacco, & caffeine before bed
Strategic use of caffeine
Don’t train just before bed
Keep your bedroom dark and quiet!!!
Get a light box for night-shift work
Exercise makes your body temp rise…
If you get off work at 7am, don’t expect to fall asleep at 8am

35. Thank You…