Effect of Sleep Deprivation on the Performance of Pilots: A Systematic Review
,
Abstract
Sleep deprivation negatively affects a person's emotions, cognition, and performance and ultimately reduces safety. The main purpose of this systematic review is to study and report the evidence on the effect of sleep deprivation on the performance of pilots. This systematic review was performed according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses. International databases including PubMed, Web of Science (WOS) and Scopus were considered for the search of English articles up to April of 2023. Keywords were sleep deprivation, pilot, flight, performance, airline, air force, flight safety, fatigue, pilot performance, flight performance, eye movement, workload, motion, visual, attention, errors, cognition, sleep quality, and circadian rhythm. In this systematic review, 12 studies consisting of 259 subjects remained. Most of the studies have reported the negative effects of sleep deprivation in a different way, and the decrease in performance was expressed as one of the important issues following sleep deprivation. As various studies show, any type of sleep deprivation in pilots can have negative effects on their performance, and this decrease in performance can have irreparable consequences.
1. van Dalfsen JH, Markus CR. The influence of sleep on human hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis reactivity: A systematic review. Sleep Med Rev 2018;39:187-94.
2. Leong RL, Cheng GH, Chee MW, Lo JC. The effects of sleep on prospective memory: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Sleep Med Rev 2019;47:18-27.
3. Baglioni C, Spiegelhalder K, Lombardo C, Riemann D. Sleep and emotions: a focus on insomnia. Sleep Med Rev 2010;14:227-38.
4. Morselli LL, Guyon A, Spiegel K. Sleep and metabolic function. Pflugers Arch 2012;463:139-60.
5. Besedovsky L, Lange T, Born J. Sleep and immune function. Pflugers Arch 2012;463:121-37.
6. Waters F, Bucks RS. Neuropsychological effects of sleep loss: implication for neuropsychologists. J Int Neuropsychol Soc 2011;17:571-86.
7. Lieberman HR, Tharion WJ, Shukitt-Hale B, Speckman KL, Tulley R. Effects of caffeine, sleep loss, and stress on cognitive performance and mood during US Navy SEAL training. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2002;164:250-61.
8. Harrison Y, Horne JA. The impact of sleep deprivation on decision making: a review. J Exp Psychol Appl 2000;6:236-46.
9. Gander PH, Mangie J, Van Den Berg MJ, Smith AA, Mulrine HM, Signal TL. Crew fatigue safety performance indicators for fatigue risk management systems. Aviat Space Environ Med 2014;85:139-47.
10. Åkerstedt T. Shift work and disturbed sleep/wakefulness. Occup Med (Lond) 2003;53:89-94.
11. Haack M, Mullington JM. Sustained sleep restriction reduces emotional and physical well-being. Pain 2005;119:56-64.
12. Gingerich SB, Seaverson EL, Anderson DR. Association between sleep and productivity loss among 598 676 employees from multiple industries. Am J Health Promot 2018;32:1091-4.
13. Engle-Friedman M. The effects of sleep loss on capacity and effort. Sleep Sci 2014;7:213-24.
14. Reilly T, Piercy M. The effect of partial sleep deprivation on weight-lifting performance. Ergonomics 1994;37:107-15.
15. Chase JD, Roberson PA, Saunders MJ, Hargens TA, Womack CJ, Luden ND. One night of sleep restriction following heavy exercise impairs 3-km cycling time-trial performance in the morning. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab 2017;42:909-15.
16. Axelsson J, Ingre M, Kecklund G, Lekander M, Wright Jr KP, Sundelin T. Sleepiness as motivation: a potential mechanism for how sleep deprivation affects behavior. Sleep 2020;43:zsz291.
17. Romdhani M, Hammouda O, Chaabouni Y, Mahdouani K, Driss T, Chamari K, et al. Sleep deprivation affects post-lunch dip performances, biomarkers of muscle damage and antioxidant status. Biol Sport 2019;36:55-65.
18. Edwards BJ, Waterhouse J. Effects of one night of partial sleep deprivation upon diurnal rhythms of accuracy and consistency in throwing darts. Chronobiol Int 2009;26:756-68.
19. Kosmadopoulos A, Sargent C, Darwent D, Zhou X, Roach GD. Alternatives to polysomnography (PSG): a validation of wrist actigraphy and a partial-PSG system. Behav Res Methods 2014;46:1032-41.
20. Reynolds AC, Banks S. Total sleep deprivation, chronic sleep restriction and sleep disruption. Prog Brain Res 2010;185:91-103.
21. Luboshitzky R, Zabari Z, Shen-Orr Z, Herer P, Lavie P. Disruption of the nocturnal testosterone rhythm by sleep fragmentation in normal men. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2001;86:1134-9.
22. Horne JA, Reyner LA. Sleep related vehicle accidents. BMJ 1995;310:565-7.
23. Moore-Ede M. Sleep, alertness, and fatigue among military personnel in Iraq. I. Circadian Technologies (Producer). Lexington, MA. 2003.
24. Sadeghniiat-Haghighi K, Yazdi Z. Fatigue management in the workplace. Ind Psychiatry J 2015;24:12-7.
25. O’Hagan AD, Issartel J, Wall A, Dunne F, Boylan P, Groeneweg J, et al. “Flying on empty”–effects of sleep deprivation on pilot performance. Biol Rhythm Res 2020;51:1133-54.
26. Helmreich RL. On error management: lessons from aviation. BMJ 2000;320:781-5.
27. O’Hagan AD, Issartel J, McGinley E, Warrington G. A pilot study exploring the effects of sleep deprivation on analogue measures of pilot competencies. Aerosp Med Hum Perform 2018;89:609-15.
28. Rethlefsen ML, Kirtley S, Waffenschmidt S, Ayala AP, Moher D, Page MJ, et al. PRISMA-S: an extension to the PRISMA statement for reporting literature searches in systematic reviews. Syst Rev 2021;10:39.
29. Dowd PJ. Sleep deprivation effects on the vestibular habituation process. J Appl Psychol 1974;59:748-52.
30. Miszczak J, Zuzewicz W. Variability of the averaged evoked potentials in healthy subjects after 24-hour sleep deprivation. Acta Physiol Pol 1977;28:61-9.
31. Chelette T, Albery W, Esken R, Tripp L. Female exposure to high G: performance of simulated flight after 24 hours of sleep deprivation. Aviat Space Environ Med 1998;69:862-8.
32. Previc FH, Ercoline WR, Evans RH, Dillon N, Lopez N, Daluz CM, et al. Simulator-induced spatial disorientation: effects of age, sleep deprivation, and type of conflict. Aviat Space Environ Med 2007;78:470-7.
33. Elmenhorst EM, Elmenhorst D, Luks N, Maass H, Vejvoda M, Samel A. Partial sleep deprivation: impact on the architecture and quality of sleep. Sleep Med 2008;9:840-50.
34. Elmenhorst D, Elmenhorst EM, Luks N, Maass H, Mueller EW, Vejvoda M, et al. Performance impairment during four days partial sleep deprivation compared with the acute effects of alcohol and hypoxia. Sleep Med 2009;10:189-97.
35. Previc FH, Lopez N, Ercoline WR, Daluz CM, Workman AJ, Evans RH, et al. The effects of sleep deprivation on flight performance, instrument scanning, and physiological arousal in pilots. Int J Aviat Psychol 2009;19:326-46.
36. Lopez N, Previc FH, Fischer J, Heitz RP, Engle RW. Effects of sleep deprivation on cognitive performance by United States Air Force pilots. J Appl Res Mem Cogn 2012;1:27-33.
37. LIU ZQ, ZHOU QX. Effect of Sleep Deprivation on Eye Movement Behavior in Flight Simulation. Chin J Biomed Eng 2013;22:178-84.
38. Sharbat-Zadeh R, Radfar H, Khaleghi-Mamaghani E. The Effect of Two Hours Sleep Deprivation at Night on Physical Performance, Blood Levels of Melatonin, Cortisol, and Testosterone in The Military Personnel. J Appl Health Stud Sport Physiol 2020;7:11-9.
39. Loayza H MP, Ponte TS, Carvalho CG, Pedrotti MR, Nunes PV, Souza CM, et al. Association between mental health screening by self-report questionnaire and insomnia in medical students. Arq Neuropsiquiatr 2001;59:180-5.
40. Sadock BJ. Kaplan & Sadock's synopsis of psychiatry. Behavioral science/clinical psychiatry; 2003.
41. Abbasmanesh M, Shetabboushehri N, Zarghmi M. Effect of sleep deprivation on mood and reaction time in the athletes and non-athletes. Rooyesh-e-Ravanshenasi J (RRJ) 2019;8:55-62.
42. Honma A, Revell VL, Gunn PJ, Davies SK, Middleton B, Raynaud FI, et al. Effect of acute total sleep deprivation on plasma melatonin, cortisol and metabolite rhythms in females. Eur J Neurosci 2020;51:366-78.
43. Berglund J. The danger of sleep deprivation. IEEE Pulse 2019;10:21-4.
44. Wilmore JH, Costill DL, Kenney WL. Physiology of sport and exercise: Human kinetics Champaign, IL; 2004.
45. Horne JA, Pettitt AN. High incentive effects on vigilance performance during 72 hours of total sleep deprivation. Acta Psychol (Amst) 1985;58:123-39.
46. Rognum TO, Vartdal F, Rodahl K, Opstad PK, Knudsen-baas O, Kindt E, et al. Physical and mental performance of soldiers on high-and low-energy diets during prolonged heavy exercise combined with sleep deprivation. Ergonomics 1986;29:859-67.
47. Orzeł-Gryglewska J. Consequences of sleep deprivation. Int J Occup Med Environ Health 2010;23:95-114.
2. Leong RL, Cheng GH, Chee MW, Lo JC. The effects of sleep on prospective memory: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Sleep Med Rev 2019;47:18-27.
3. Baglioni C, Spiegelhalder K, Lombardo C, Riemann D. Sleep and emotions: a focus on insomnia. Sleep Med Rev 2010;14:227-38.
4. Morselli LL, Guyon A, Spiegel K. Sleep and metabolic function. Pflugers Arch 2012;463:139-60.
5. Besedovsky L, Lange T, Born J. Sleep and immune function. Pflugers Arch 2012;463:121-37.
6. Waters F, Bucks RS. Neuropsychological effects of sleep loss: implication for neuropsychologists. J Int Neuropsychol Soc 2011;17:571-86.
7. Lieberman HR, Tharion WJ, Shukitt-Hale B, Speckman KL, Tulley R. Effects of caffeine, sleep loss, and stress on cognitive performance and mood during US Navy SEAL training. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2002;164:250-61.
8. Harrison Y, Horne JA. The impact of sleep deprivation on decision making: a review. J Exp Psychol Appl 2000;6:236-46.
9. Gander PH, Mangie J, Van Den Berg MJ, Smith AA, Mulrine HM, Signal TL. Crew fatigue safety performance indicators for fatigue risk management systems. Aviat Space Environ Med 2014;85:139-47.
10. Åkerstedt T. Shift work and disturbed sleep/wakefulness. Occup Med (Lond) 2003;53:89-94.
11. Haack M, Mullington JM. Sustained sleep restriction reduces emotional and physical well-being. Pain 2005;119:56-64.
12. Gingerich SB, Seaverson EL, Anderson DR. Association between sleep and productivity loss among 598 676 employees from multiple industries. Am J Health Promot 2018;32:1091-4.
13. Engle-Friedman M. The effects of sleep loss on capacity and effort. Sleep Sci 2014;7:213-24.
14. Reilly T, Piercy M. The effect of partial sleep deprivation on weight-lifting performance. Ergonomics 1994;37:107-15.
15. Chase JD, Roberson PA, Saunders MJ, Hargens TA, Womack CJ, Luden ND. One night of sleep restriction following heavy exercise impairs 3-km cycling time-trial performance in the morning. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab 2017;42:909-15.
16. Axelsson J, Ingre M, Kecklund G, Lekander M, Wright Jr KP, Sundelin T. Sleepiness as motivation: a potential mechanism for how sleep deprivation affects behavior. Sleep 2020;43:zsz291.
17. Romdhani M, Hammouda O, Chaabouni Y, Mahdouani K, Driss T, Chamari K, et al. Sleep deprivation affects post-lunch dip performances, biomarkers of muscle damage and antioxidant status. Biol Sport 2019;36:55-65.
18. Edwards BJ, Waterhouse J. Effects of one night of partial sleep deprivation upon diurnal rhythms of accuracy and consistency in throwing darts. Chronobiol Int 2009;26:756-68.
19. Kosmadopoulos A, Sargent C, Darwent D, Zhou X, Roach GD. Alternatives to polysomnography (PSG): a validation of wrist actigraphy and a partial-PSG system. Behav Res Methods 2014;46:1032-41.
20. Reynolds AC, Banks S. Total sleep deprivation, chronic sleep restriction and sleep disruption. Prog Brain Res 2010;185:91-103.
21. Luboshitzky R, Zabari Z, Shen-Orr Z, Herer P, Lavie P. Disruption of the nocturnal testosterone rhythm by sleep fragmentation in normal men. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2001;86:1134-9.
22. Horne JA, Reyner LA. Sleep related vehicle accidents. BMJ 1995;310:565-7.
23. Moore-Ede M. Sleep, alertness, and fatigue among military personnel in Iraq. I. Circadian Technologies (Producer). Lexington, MA. 2003.
24. Sadeghniiat-Haghighi K, Yazdi Z. Fatigue management in the workplace. Ind Psychiatry J 2015;24:12-7.
25. O’Hagan AD, Issartel J, Wall A, Dunne F, Boylan P, Groeneweg J, et al. “Flying on empty”–effects of sleep deprivation on pilot performance. Biol Rhythm Res 2020;51:1133-54.
26. Helmreich RL. On error management: lessons from aviation. BMJ 2000;320:781-5.
27. O’Hagan AD, Issartel J, McGinley E, Warrington G. A pilot study exploring the effects of sleep deprivation on analogue measures of pilot competencies. Aerosp Med Hum Perform 2018;89:609-15.
28. Rethlefsen ML, Kirtley S, Waffenschmidt S, Ayala AP, Moher D, Page MJ, et al. PRISMA-S: an extension to the PRISMA statement for reporting literature searches in systematic reviews. Syst Rev 2021;10:39.
29. Dowd PJ. Sleep deprivation effects on the vestibular habituation process. J Appl Psychol 1974;59:748-52.
30. Miszczak J, Zuzewicz W. Variability of the averaged evoked potentials in healthy subjects after 24-hour sleep deprivation. Acta Physiol Pol 1977;28:61-9.
31. Chelette T, Albery W, Esken R, Tripp L. Female exposure to high G: performance of simulated flight after 24 hours of sleep deprivation. Aviat Space Environ Med 1998;69:862-8.
32. Previc FH, Ercoline WR, Evans RH, Dillon N, Lopez N, Daluz CM, et al. Simulator-induced spatial disorientation: effects of age, sleep deprivation, and type of conflict. Aviat Space Environ Med 2007;78:470-7.
33. Elmenhorst EM, Elmenhorst D, Luks N, Maass H, Vejvoda M, Samel A. Partial sleep deprivation: impact on the architecture and quality of sleep. Sleep Med 2008;9:840-50.
34. Elmenhorst D, Elmenhorst EM, Luks N, Maass H, Mueller EW, Vejvoda M, et al. Performance impairment during four days partial sleep deprivation compared with the acute effects of alcohol and hypoxia. Sleep Med 2009;10:189-97.
35. Previc FH, Lopez N, Ercoline WR, Daluz CM, Workman AJ, Evans RH, et al. The effects of sleep deprivation on flight performance, instrument scanning, and physiological arousal in pilots. Int J Aviat Psychol 2009;19:326-46.
36. Lopez N, Previc FH, Fischer J, Heitz RP, Engle RW. Effects of sleep deprivation on cognitive performance by United States Air Force pilots. J Appl Res Mem Cogn 2012;1:27-33.
37. LIU ZQ, ZHOU QX. Effect of Sleep Deprivation on Eye Movement Behavior in Flight Simulation. Chin J Biomed Eng 2013;22:178-84.
38. Sharbat-Zadeh R, Radfar H, Khaleghi-Mamaghani E. The Effect of Two Hours Sleep Deprivation at Night on Physical Performance, Blood Levels of Melatonin, Cortisol, and Testosterone in The Military Personnel. J Appl Health Stud Sport Physiol 2020;7:11-9.
39. Loayza H MP, Ponte TS, Carvalho CG, Pedrotti MR, Nunes PV, Souza CM, et al. Association between mental health screening by self-report questionnaire and insomnia in medical students. Arq Neuropsiquiatr 2001;59:180-5.
40. Sadock BJ. Kaplan & Sadock's synopsis of psychiatry. Behavioral science/clinical psychiatry; 2003.
41. Abbasmanesh M, Shetabboushehri N, Zarghmi M. Effect of sleep deprivation on mood and reaction time in the athletes and non-athletes. Rooyesh-e-Ravanshenasi J (RRJ) 2019;8:55-62.
42. Honma A, Revell VL, Gunn PJ, Davies SK, Middleton B, Raynaud FI, et al. Effect of acute total sleep deprivation on plasma melatonin, cortisol and metabolite rhythms in females. Eur J Neurosci 2020;51:366-78.
43. Berglund J. The danger of sleep deprivation. IEEE Pulse 2019;10:21-4.
44. Wilmore JH, Costill DL, Kenney WL. Physiology of sport and exercise: Human kinetics Champaign, IL; 2004.
45. Horne JA, Pettitt AN. High incentive effects on vigilance performance during 72 hours of total sleep deprivation. Acta Psychol (Amst) 1985;58:123-39.
46. Rognum TO, Vartdal F, Rodahl K, Opstad PK, Knudsen-baas O, Kindt E, et al. Physical and mental performance of soldiers on high-and low-energy diets during prolonged heavy exercise combined with sleep deprivation. Ergonomics 1986;29:859-67.
47. Orzeł-Gryglewska J. Consequences of sleep deprivation. Int J Occup Med Environ Health 2010;23:95-114.
| Files | ||
| Issue | Vol 61 No 12 (2023) | |
| Section | Review Article(s) | |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.18502/acta.v61i12.16366 | |
| Keywords | ||
| Sleep Deprivation Pilot Performance | ||
| Rights and permissions | |
|
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. |
How to Cite
1.
Naseri S, Eslami R, Samadi S, Hassanlouei B. Effect of Sleep Deprivation on the Performance of Pilots: A Systematic Review. Acta Med Iran. 2024;61(12):709-715.
