The impact of rotating watch schedules on crew endurance aboard high and medium endurance U.S. coast guard cutters

摘要

Crew alertness and the incidence of sleep/wake cycle disruptions were evaluated aboard a medium endurance (WMEC) and a high endurance (WHEC) cutter thoughout 32 and 30 consecutive days underway, respectively. A total of sixty-four crewmembers participated in the study. Wrist activity monitors (WAMs) were used to document sleep/wake cycles and electroencephalography (EEG) techniques were used to measure alertness. Sixty-four participants wore WAMs throughout the study period, while a subset of 28 volunteers participated in short duration EEG alertness tests repeated every three to five days. Alertness tests were administered within three hours of wakefulness from daily sleep. Participants were allowed to follow their daily routine prior to reporting for the wakefulness from daily sleep. Participants were allowed to follow their daily routine prior to reporting for the wakefulness tests. In both cases, low operational tempo and unremarkable weather characterized patrol conditions.