Are professional drivers less sleepy than non-professional drivers?
OBJECTIVE: It is generally believed that professional drivers can manage quite severe fatigue before routine driving performance is affected. In addition, there are results indicating that professional drivers can adapt to prolonged night shifts and may be able to learn to drive without decreased pe...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nordic Association of Occupational Safety and Health (NOROSH)
2018-01-01
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| Series: | Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: |
https://www.sjweh.fi/show_abstract.php?abstract_id=3677
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| _version_ | 1818947758331002880 |
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| author | Anna Anund Christer Ahlström Carina Fors Torbjörn Åkerstedt |
| author_facet | Anna Anund Christer Ahlström Carina Fors Torbjörn Åkerstedt |
| author_sort | Anna Anund |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | OBJECTIVE: It is generally believed that professional drivers can manage quite severe fatigue before routine driving performance is affected. In addition, there are results indicating that professional drivers can adapt to prolonged night shifts and may be able to learn to drive without decreased performance under high levels of sleepiness. However, very little research has been conducted to compare professionals and non-professionals when controlling for time driven and time of day. METHOD: The aim of this study was to use a driving simulator to investigate whether professional drivers are more resistant to sleep deprivation than non-professional drivers. Differences in the development of sleepiness (self-reported, physiological and behavioral) during driving was investigated in 11 young professional and 15 non-professional drivers. RESULTS: Professional drivers self-reported significantly lower sleepiness while driving a simulator than non-professional drivers. In contradiction, they showed longer blink durations and more line crossings, both of which are indicators of sleepiness. They also drove faster. The reason for the discrepancy in the relation between the different sleepiness indicators for the two groups could be due to more experience to sleepiness among the professional drivers or possibly to the faster speed, which might unconsciously have been used by the professionals to try to counteract sleepiness. CONCLUSION: Professional drivers self-reported significantly lower sleepiness while driving a simulator than non-professional drivers. However, they showed longer blink durations and more line crossings, both of which are indicators of sleepiness, and they drove faster. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-20T08:35:59Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f9a0d3338fde469ab0a9a910406a86d6 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0355-3140 1795-990X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-20T08:35:59Z |
| publishDate | 2018-01-01 |
| publisher | Nordic Association of Occupational Safety and Health (NOROSH) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-f9a0d3338fde469ab0a9a910406a86d62022-12-21T19:46:35ZengNordic Association of Occupational Safety and Health (NOROSH)Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health0355-31401795-990X2018-01-01441889510.5271/sjweh.36773677Are professional drivers less sleepy than non-professional drivers?Anna Anund0Christer AhlströmCarina ForsTorbjörn ÅkerstedtSwedish National Road and Transport Research Institute, Linköping, Sweden.OBJECTIVE: It is generally believed that professional drivers can manage quite severe fatigue before routine driving performance is affected. In addition, there are results indicating that professional drivers can adapt to prolonged night shifts and may be able to learn to drive without decreased performance under high levels of sleepiness. However, very little research has been conducted to compare professionals and non-professionals when controlling for time driven and time of day. METHOD: The aim of this study was to use a driving simulator to investigate whether professional drivers are more resistant to sleep deprivation than non-professional drivers. Differences in the development of sleepiness (self-reported, physiological and behavioral) during driving was investigated in 11 young professional and 15 non-professional drivers. RESULTS: Professional drivers self-reported significantly lower sleepiness while driving a simulator than non-professional drivers. In contradiction, they showed longer blink durations and more line crossings, both of which are indicators of sleepiness. They also drove faster. The reason for the discrepancy in the relation between the different sleepiness indicators for the two groups could be due to more experience to sleepiness among the professional drivers or possibly to the faster speed, which might unconsciously have been used by the professionals to try to counteract sleepiness. CONCLUSION: Professional drivers self-reported significantly lower sleepiness while driving a simulator than non-professional drivers. However, they showed longer blink durations and more line crossings, both of which are indicators of sleepiness, and they drove faster. https://www.sjweh.fi/show_abstract.php?abstract_id=3677 fatiguesleepprofessional drivershift worktransportationdriversleepynon-professional driverdriving |
| spellingShingle | Anna Anund Christer Ahlström Carina Fors Torbjörn Åkerstedt Are professional drivers less sleepy than non-professional drivers? Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health fatigue sleep professional driver shift work transportation driver sleepy non-professional driver driving |
| title | Are professional drivers less sleepy than non-professional drivers? |
| title_full | Are professional drivers less sleepy than non-professional drivers? |
| title_fullStr | Are professional drivers less sleepy than non-professional drivers? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Are professional drivers less sleepy than non-professional drivers? |
| title_short | Are professional drivers less sleepy than non-professional drivers? |
| title_sort | are professional drivers less sleepy than non professional drivers |
| topic | fatigue sleep professional driver shift work transportation driver sleepy non-professional driver driving |
| url |
https://www.sjweh.fi/show_abstract.php?abstract_id=3677
|
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