Citation

Colquhoun WP, Rutenfranz J, Goethe H, Neidhart B, Condon R, Plett R, Knauth P. Int. Arch. Occup. Environ. Health 1988; 60(5): 321-329.

Affiliation

MRC Perceptual and Cognitive Performance Unit, University of Sussex, Brighton, England.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1988, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

2898432

Abstract

The safety of a ship depends substantially on its bridge watchkeepers, whose alertness and efficiency must be maintained at all hours of the day and night. Fatigue, circadian rhythms, and sleep disruption occasioned by the unusual working hours of these personnel may all affect their performance. A methodology for assessing the magnitude of this problem is proposed. The application of this methodology in a large-scale shipboard study of merchant mariners on extended voyages is then described, and details given of the techniques used to measure sleep and activity, and temporal variations in a range of physiological und psychological parameters. A summary of the data collected in the study is provided as a reference point for the reports on the different aspects of the results that follow in subsequent articles.

Language: en