Causes, consequences and countermeasures to driver fatigue in the rail industry: The train driver perspective.

Fatigue is an important workplace risk management issue. Within the rail industry, the passing of a stop signal (signal passed at danger; SPAD) is considered to be one of the most major safety breaches which can occur. Train drivers are very aware of the negative consequences associated with a SPAD.

The Chronotype of Elite Athletes.

The aims of this study were (i) to compare the chronotype distribution of elite athletes to a young adult population and (ii) to determine if there was a tendency for athletes to select and/or participate in sports which suited their chronotype. A total of 114 elite athletes from five sports (cricket, cycling, hockey, soccer and triathlon) participated in this study. The participants' chronotype, sleepiness, sleep satisfaction and sleep quality were determined using the Horne and Östberg Morningness and Eveningness questionnaire, the Epworth Sleepiness Scale and questions concerning their sleep satisfaction and quality.

Sleep Duration and Chronic Fatigue Are Differently Associated with the Dietary Profile of Shift Workers.

Shift work has been associated with dietary changes. This study examined factors associated with the dietary profiles of shift workers from several industries ( = 118, 57 male; age = 43.4 ± 9.

Animal Ownership Among Vulnerable Populations in Regional South Australia: Implications for Natural Disaster Preparedness and Resilience.

Context: Few studies have examined the prevalence of animal ownership among populations likely to be at greater risk from disaster events within a bushfire context.

Objective: To investigate the proportion of vulnerable community members keeping animals and the types of animals kept, as well as perceived risk of harm to pets, and their inclusion in bushfire survival planning.

Design: Statewide anonymous online survey in 2014 of adult South Australian animal owners threatened by bushfire in January 2014.

The Relationships between Human Fatigue and Public Health: A Brief Commentary on Selected Papers from the 9th International Conference on Managing Fatigue in Transportation, Resources and Health.

The 9th International Conference on Managing Fatigue in Transportation, Resources and Health was held in Fremantle, Western Australia in March 2015. The purpose of the conferences in this series is to provide a forum for industry representatives, regulators, and scientists to discuss recent advances in the field of fatigue research. We have produced a Special Issue of the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health based on papers from the conference that were focused on various aspects of public health.

Sleep duration is reduced in elite athletes following night-time competition.

This study examined the impact of competition on the sleep/wake behaviour of elite athletes. The sleep/wake behaviour of Australian Rules Football players was assessed with wrist activity monitors on the night immediately before, and the night immediately after, a day game and an evening game. The time of day that a game occurred had a marked influence on sleep/wake behaviour later that night.

Is it on? An algorithm for discerning wrist-accelerometer non-wear times from sleep/wake activity.

The accuracy of sleep/wake estimates derived with actigraphy is often dependent on researchers being able to discern non-wear times from sleep or quiescent wakefulness when confronted by discrepancies in a sleep log. Without knowing when an accelerometer is being worn, non-wear could be inferred from periods of inactivity unlikely to occur while in bed. Data collected in our laboratory suggest that more than 50% of inactive periods during time in bed are <8 min in duration.

The time-of-day that breaks occur between consecutive duty periods affects the sleep strategies used by shiftworkers.

The aim of this study was to examine the sleep strategies used in breaks between consecutive shifts. For two weeks, 253 shiftworkers collected data regarding the timing of all shifts and sleeps. The final dataset included 395 between-shift breaks that had a standard duration (i.

No first night shift effect observed following a nocturnal main sleep and a prophylactic 1-h afternoon nap.

Neurobehavioural impairment on the first night shift is often greater than on subsequent night shifts due to extended wakefulness. The aim of the study was to determine whether a 1-h afternoon nap prior to the first night shift is sufficient to produce neurobehavioural performance at levels comparable to the second night shift. Twelve male volunteers (mean age 22.

How should a bio-mathematical model be used within a fatigue risk management system to determine whether or not a working time arrangement is safe?

Bio-mathematical models that predict fatigue and/or sleepiness have proved a useful adjunct in the management of what has been typically referred to as fatigue-related risk. Codifying what constitutes appropriate use of these models will be increasingly important over the next decade. Current guidelines for determining a safe working time arrangement based on model outputs generally use a single upper threshold and are, arguably, over-simplistic.

Views on equine-related research in Australia from the Australian equestrian community: perceived outputs and benefits.

Objectives: The extension of research into public practice is enhanced by communication and behaviour change strategies that are consistent with consumer needs and perspectives. To gain support for equine research (or to appreciate the perspectives contributing to disagreement), it is necessary to determine how aware consumers are of research, what research means to them, how they perceive its benefits (if at all) and how they engage with (or resist) it. Because of a surprising dearth of research evaluating consumer perceptions of research in any sector, our aim was to identify the perceived outputs and benefits of research from the perspective of the Australian horse owner.

Daily Rhythms of Hunger and Satiety in Healthy Men during One Week of Sleep Restriction and Circadian Misalignment.

The impact of sleep restriction on the endogenous circadian rhythms of hunger and satiety were examined in 28 healthy young men. Participants were scheduled to 2 × 24-h days of baseline followed by 8 × 28-h days of forced desynchrony during which sleep was either moderately restricted (equivalent to 6 h in bed/24 h; n = 14) or severely restricted (equivalent to 4 h in bed/24 h; n = 14). Self-reported hunger and satisfaction were assessed every 2.

The validity of activity monitors for measuring sleep in elite athletes.

Objectives: There is a growing interest in monitoring the sleep of elite athletes. Polysomnography is considered the gold standard for measuring sleep, however this technique is impractical if the aim is to collect data simultaneously with multiple athletes over consecutive nights. Activity monitors may be a suitable alternative for monitoring sleep, but these devices have not been validated against polysomnography in a population of elite athletes.

Are two halves better than one whole? A comparison of the amount and quality of sleep obtained by healthy adult males living on split and consolidated sleep-wake schedules.

The aim of this study was to compare the quantity/quality of sleep obtained by people living on split and consolidated sleep-wake schedules. The study had a between-groups design, with 13 participants in a consolidated condition (all males, mean age of 22.5yr) and 16 participants in a split condition (all males, mean age of 22.

Using interstimulus interval to maximise sensitivity of the Psychomotor Vigilance Test to fatigue.

There is some evidence that short interstimulus intervals (ISIs) on the Psychomotor Vigilance Test (PVT) are associated with longer and more varied reaction times (RTs). Preparation processes may impede RT following short ISIs, resulting in additional unexplained variance. The aims of this study were to investigate whether there is an effect of ISI on RT and errors within the PVT, and whether such an effect changes with three elements of fatigue: time of day, prior wake and time on task.

Do split sleep/wake schedules reduce or increase sleepiness for continuous operations?

This study compared the impact of split and consolidated sleep/wake schedules on subjective sleepiness during the biological day and biological night. This was achieved using a between-group design involving two forced desynchrony protocols: consolidated sleep/wake and split sleep/wake. Both protocols included 7×28-h days with 9.

The efficacy of objective and subjective predictors of driving performance during sleep restriction and circadian misalignment.

Fatigue is a significant contributor to motor-vehicle accidents and fatalities. Shift workers are particularly susceptible to fatigue-related risks as they are often sleep-restricted and required to commute around the clock. Simple assays of performance could provide useful indications of risk in fatigue management, but their effectiveness may be influenced by changes in their sensitivity to sleep loss across the day.

Feedback has a positive effect on cognitive function during total sleep deprivation if there is sufficient time for it to be effectively processed.

This study examined whether the provision of feedback and the interval between successive stimuli interact to affect performance on a serial simple reaction time test during sleep deprivation. Sixteen participants (9 female, 7 male, aged 18-27 yr) completed four versions of the 5-min psychomotor vigilance task for a handheld personal digital assistant (PalmPVT) every 2 h during 28 h of sustained wakefulness. The four versions differed in terms of whether or not they provided feedback immediately after each response, and whether the inter-stimulus intervals (ISIs) were long (2-10 s) or short (1-5 s).

Differential associations of job control components with both waist circumference and body mass index.

Introduction: The Job Demand-Control-Support (JDCS) model is commonly used to investigate associations between psychosocial work factors and employee health, yet research considering obesity using the JDCS model remains inconclusive.

Objective: This study investigates which parts of the JDCS model are associated with measures of obesity and provides a comparison between waist circumference (higher values imply central obesity) and body mass index (BMI, higher values imply overall obesity).

Methods: Contrary to common practice, in this study the JDCS components are not reduced into composite or global scores.

Investigating the formal countermeasures and informal strategies used to mitigate SPAD risk in train driving.

Various countermeasures are used to mitigate signal passed at danger (SPAD) events on railways, yet they continue. While risk factors that destabilise cognitive processes have been identified, less has been published on the relationship between these factors and the informal strategies that drivers themselves adopt to reduce individual SPAD risk. This study aimed to address this gap and used a participative approach to collect and thematically analyse data from 28 drivers across eight rail organisations in Australia and New Zealand.

The impact of a simulated grand tour on sleep, mood, and well-being of competitive cyclists.

Aim: Professional cycling is considered one of the most demanding of all endurance sports. The three major professional cycling stages races (i.e.

The effects of a split sleep-wake schedule on neurobehavioural performance and predictions of performance under conditions of forced desynchrony.

Extended wakefulness, sleep loss, and circadian misalignment are factors associated with an increased accident risk in shiftwork. Splitting shifts into multiple shorter periods per day may mitigate these risks by alleviating prior wake. However, the effect of splitting the sleep-wake schedule on the homeostatic and circadian contributions to neurobehavioural performance and subjective assessments of one's ability to perform are not known.