Associated data for "The impact of a short burst of exercise on sleep inertia"

Emergency service workers perform the critical role of caring for and protecting members of the community. Emergency service work is unpredictable and shifts can include nighttime hours when workers could be sleeping. If woken from their sleep, a worker’s ability to safely and effectively perform their role can be impacted by sleep inertia. Sleep inertia is the state of reduced alertness and impaired cognition found upon waking and can be detrimental to emergency service workers who may be woken during on-call shifts or night shifts during unprotected naps (naps in which they can still be woken to work). Effective and fast acting sleep inertia countermeasures are needed to reduce the impact of sleep inertia on emergency workers’ safety and performance, however so far no such strategy has been identified. The aim of this study is to investigate exercise, as a novel countermeasure for sleep inertia. To achieve this an experimental laboratory study was completed to determine the effect of a short burst of low intensity exercise, high intensity exercise or no exercise on cognitive performance and subjective sleepiness upon waking. Subjective sleepiness, cognitive performance, saliva samples to measure cortisol concentration, heart rate and core body temperature data were collected. Analyses will be conducted using Excel and SPSS. This is one of three studies contributing to the final thesis. The final thesis aims to primarily investigate the effectiveness of exercise as a sleep inertia countermeasure. A secondary aim is to explore how workers experience and manage sleep inertia in the field, to advance the development and application of sleep inertia countermeasures

Nutrition and supplementation considerations to limit endotoxemia when exercising in the heat

Abstract: Exercise-induced heat production is further elevated by exercise performed in hot conditions and this can subsequently impact inflammation, and gastrointestinal (GI) health. Implementing nutrition and supplementation strategies under these conditions may support the hyperthermic response, the systemic inflammatory response, GI permeability and integrity, and exercise performance. Therefore, the aim of this brief review is to explore athletes’ inflammatory response of two key biomarkers, lipopolysaccharide (LPS), and interleukin-6 (IL-6), and provide nutrition and supplementation recommendations when exercising in hot conditions. There is emerging evidence that probiotics, glutamine, and vitamin C can preserve GI integrity, which may improve performance during exercise in the heat. Glucose rich food when consumed with water, before and during exercise in the heat, also appear to limit endotoxemia, preserve GI integrity, and reduce the incidence of GI disturbances compared with water alone. The use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) may compromise GI integrity and this may result in greater leakage of endotoxins during long duration exercise in the heat. Further work is required to elucidate the impact of nutrition and supplementation strategies, in particular the use of NSAIDs, when exercising in the heat

Safety implications of fatigue and sleep inertia for emergency services personnel

Emergency services present a unique operational environment for the management of fatigue and sleep inertia. Communities request and often expect the provision of emergency services on a 24/7/365 basis. This can result in highly variable workloads and/or significant need for on-demand or on-call working time arrangements. In turn, the management of fatigue-related risk requires a different approach than in other more predictable shift working sectors (e.g., mining and manufacturing). The aim of this review is to provide a comprehensive overview of fatigue risk management that is accessible to regulators, policy makers and organisations in the emergency services sector. The review outlines the unique fatigue challenges in the emergency services sector, examines the current scientific and policy consensus around managing fatigue and sleep inertia, and finally discusses strategies that emergency services organisations can use to minimise the risks associated with fatigue and sleep inertia

Reply to Patterson et al. Commentary: Fatigue risk management in emergency services personnel

We would like to thank our colleagues for pointing out their previously published work. We agree that their paper is an excellent ‘companion piece’ to our paper. Indeed, there is significant complementarity in the scope of the respective papers. Our paper addresses issues for emergency services personnel. In Australia this is primarily paid and volunteer fire, ambulance emergency services along with other first responder groups that typically ‘travel to’ an emergency. In the Australian context this explicitly excludes hospital-based health care professionals who receive injured individuals from emergency services. It would appear that this distinction may not be the same in the United States where emergency services perhaps includes hospital-based health care professionals

Global research output on sleep research in athletes from 1966 to 2019: A bibliometric analysis

This study examined sleep research in athletes published between 1966 and 2019, through a bibliometric analysis of research output in the Scopus database. Following a robust assessment of titles, the bibliometric indicators of productivity for studies included in the final analysis were: Distribution of publications and citations (excluding self-citations), top ten active journals, countries, institutions and authors, single- and multi-country collaboration, and 25 top-cited papers. Out of the 1015 papers, 313 were included in the final analysis. The majority of the papers were research articles (n = 259; 82.8%) and published in English (n = 295; 94.3%). From 2011, there was a dramatic increase in papers published (n = 257; 82.1%) and citations (n = 3538; 91.0%). The number of collaborations increased after 2001, with papers published through international (n = 81; 25.9%) and national (n = 192; 61.3%) collaboration. Australia was the most prolific country in terms of number of publications (n = 97; 31.0%), and citations (n = 1529; 15.8%). In conclusion, after the beginning of the twenty-first century, the scientific production on sleep research in athletes has seen significant growth in publication and citation output. Future research should focus on interventions to improve sleep in athletes

Associated data for "Exploring practical countermeasures to manage the risk of sleep inertia for emergency service personnel"

This project aims to investigate potential barriers to the use of sleep inertia countermeasures under operational settings for emergency service workers. Data will be collected through an online survey using Qualtrics. A mix of quantitative and qualitative data will be collected through the survey. It is anticipated that qualitative data will be analysed using Nvivo 12 software and quantitative data will be analysed using SPSS software. This is one of 3 studies contributing to the final thesis. The final thesis aims to primarily investigate the effectiveness of exercise as a sleep inertia countermeasure. A secondary aim is to explore how workers experience and manage sleep inertia in the field, to advance the development and application of sleep inertia countermeasures

Associated data for "The experience and management of sleep inertia in Australian volunteer firefighters"

The current project aims to explore firefighters experiences of sleep inertia and how it is managed in the field. Data will be collected through semi-structured interviews with a sample of volunteer firefighters from the South Australian Country Fire Service. Data will be in the form of audio recordings and word documents for transcribed files. Data will be analysed through the use of NVivo12 software, available through CQUniversity. As the gold standard, one on one interviews will be conducted to allow for data collection to occur at a time that is most convenient for the participant. Interviews will be recorded and then de-identified prior to transcription. Transcribed data will then be organised using NVivo software and analysed thematically using a general inductive approach since there are no prior hypotheses or assumptions

The impact of on-call work for partners’ sleep, relationship quality and daytime functioning

The on-call schedule is a common work arrangement that allows for the continuance of services during periods of low demand or emergencies. Even though 17%–25% of the world’s population participate in on-call work, the human impacts of on-call are generally poorly described in the literature. Of the studies available on the effects of on-call work on workers, disturbances to sleep duration and sleep quality are the most commonly reported, along with negative sleep-related consequences on sleepiness, fatigue, stress and mood. Research has shown that for couples sharing a bed, disturbances to sleep can impair relationship conflict resolution and reduce relationship quality. In the ‘off-site’ on-call scenario where workers are sleeping at home, their co-sleeping partner may be at risk of sleep disturbances and the subsequent detrimental consequences of this disturbed sleep for themselves and their relationship. To date, few studies have investigated the impact of on-call work for partners’ sleep and the potential sleep-related consequences. Therefore, further studies are needed to specifically address whether on-call work impacts the sleep of partners and whether these sleep disturbances also impact the partner’s daily performance and relationship quality. Our aim was to provide a narrative around the existing, relevant literature that both investigate and inform the potential impact of on-call for workers’ partners’ sleep and related consequences

Factors that influence the decision to have a tongue tie released: A preliminary study

There is equivocal evidence regarding the impact of tongue-tie release on feeding or speech outcomes, but rates of release have risen dramatically. This preliminary study explored the decision-making process and experience of clients and caregivers who decide to have a tongue-tie release. This online survey yielded 41 respondents. Feeding was the primary reason identified for release in children under age 1, with speech and dental related issues cited for older children and adults. Dentists were most frequently identified as the health care professional who released the tongue-tie. Positive change was noted by most respondents. More than half the respondents indicated that they would approach their decision-making process similarly if faced with the decision again. This survey was limited by its small sample but provides insight into what is guiding the decision to have a tongue-tie released and potential gaps in the information people have when making this decision

Firefighters' physical activity across multiple shifts of planned burn work

Little is currently known about the physical activity patterns of workers in physically demanding populations. The aims of this study were to (a) quantify firefighters' physical activity and sedentary time within (2-h periods) and across planned burn shifts; and (b) examine whether firefighters' activity levels during one shift or 2-h period was associated with their activity levels in the following shift or 2-h period. Thirty-four salaried firefighters (26 men, 8 women) wore an Actical accelerometer for 28 consecutive days. Time spent sedentary (SED) and in light- (LPA), moderate- (MPA) and vigorous-intensity physical activity (VPA) were derived using validated cut-points. Multilevel analyses (shift, participant) were conducted using generalised linear latent and mixed models. Firefighters spent the majority of a planned burn shift (average length 10.4 h) or 2-h period engaged in LPA (69% and 70%, respectively). No significant associations were observed between SED and physical activity levels between consecutive planned burned shifts or 2-h periods. The physical activity that a firefighter engaged in during one shift (or 2-h period) did not subsequently affect their physical activity levels in the subsequent shift (or 2-h period). Further research is needed to establish how workers in physically demanding populations are able to sustain their activity levels over long periods of time