Recurrent On-Duty Sleepiness and Alertness Management Strategies in Long-Haul Airline Pilots

Jun 21, 2018Aerospace medicine and human performance

Repeated Sleepiness During Work and Ways Long-Haul Airline Pilots Manage Alertness

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Abstract

Pilots classified as 'never' sleepy obtained 54 minutes more sleep before outbound flights compared to those classified as 'regularly' sleepy.

22% of pilots were classified as 'never' sleepy on outbound flights, while 54% were 'sometimes' sleepy and 24% 'regularly' sleepy.
For inbound flights, 25% of pilots were 'never' sleepy, 48% 'sometimes' sleepy, and 27% 'regularly' sleepy.
On outbound flights, 'never' sleepy pilots averaged 54 minutes more night sleep than 'regularly' sleepy pilots.
On inbound flights, 'never' sleepy pilots averaged 1 hour and 23 minutes more sleep prior to flying than 'regularly' sleepy pilots.
'Never' sleepy pilots also had 31 minutes more sleep between days off than their 'regularly' sleepy counterparts.
The effectiveness of in-flight alertness management strategies among pilots showed mixed results.

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INTRODUCTION: We examined whether long-haul airline pilots without recurrent on-duty sleepiness obtain more prior sleep and use more effective in-flight alertness management strategies than their colleagues with recurrent on-duty sleepiness.

METHODS: There were 51 pilots who flew at least twice from Helsinki to Asia. Of them, 44 flew at least twice back to Helsinki following 1 local night. On-duty sleepiness was measured by the Karolinska Sleepiness Scale (KSS), alertness management strategies by a diary, and sleep by a diary and activity monitor. Pilots who rated KSS ≥ 7 on each, some, or none of the flights were classified as "regularly", "sometimes", and "never" sleepy, respectively. This classification was performed separately for the outbound and inbound flights.

RESULTS: On the outbound flights, 22% of the pilots were "never", 54% "sometimes", and 24% "regularly" sleepy. For the inbound flights, the respective distribution was 25%, 48%, and 27%. Compared to the "regularly" sleepy group, the "never" sleepy group obtained 54 min more night sleep prior to the outbound flights. For the inbound flights, the respective difference was 1 h 23 min. Also, the "never" sleepy pilots slept 31 min more between days off than the "regularly" sleepy pilots. The results of the in-flight alertness management strategies were mixed.

DISCUSSION: The study demonstrates that pilots without recurrent on-duty sleepiness obtain more sleep than their colleagues with recurrent on-duty sleepiness. The result emphasizes the need to investigate whether the sleep of recurrently sleepy pilots can be increased and whether this increase would reduce their on-duty sleepiness.Sallinen M, Åkerstedt T, Härmä M, Henelius A, Ketola K, Leinikka M, Kecklund G, Sihvola M, Tuori A, Virkkala J, Puttonen S. Recurrent on-duty sleepiness and alertness management strategies in long-haul airline pilots. Aerosp Med Hum Perform. 2018; 89(7):601-608.

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Recurrent On-Duty Sleepiness and Alertness Management Strategies in Long-Haul Airline Pilots

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