The Effect of Habitual Exercise on Daytime Sleepiness and Mood of US Navy Sailors

摘要

As part of a broader study, this work investigates if habitual exercise protects against mooddeterioration and daytime sleepiness in Sailors during underway operations. Previous work hasshown that unfavorable watchstanding schedules have negative effects on sleep quality,subjective levels of fatigue, mood, and psychomotor vigilance performance. The participantswere crewmembers of a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier (N=193), working on two differentwatchstanding schedules. Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) and profile of mood state (POMS)scores were compared between participants who reported exercising < 3 times/week and ≥3times/week. During the course of the underway, ESS and POMS scores changed more favorablyfor the crewmembers who exercised 3 or more times/week compared to their peers who exercisedless. The effect of working out was more prominent in the less favorable shift schedule. Theseresults suggest that habitual exercise can be a protective buffer against some of the negativeeffects of watchstanding while underway.