Stress Training Efficacy in an Aviation Context

Stress is regularly introduced in training to prepare troops for stressful environments and situations, although there is very little empirical evidence for stress training\u27s effectiveness, implementation and pedagogy. Twenty novice participants were recruited and assigned to either a stress-trained (cold pressor), treatment group or a control group. Stress training was effective at improving the treatment group’s performance during a final criterion session on an aircraft navigation task compared to the control group. In addition, the stress-trained group showed lower criterion heart rate variability, skin conductance, and subjective stress ratings compared to the control group. This research demonstrates stress training as a viable approach for preparing military members for stressful flight environments and combat, in general. Further research addressing the generalization of these results to novel, real-world stressors is proposed

Stress Effects on Transfer from Virtual Environment Flight Training to Stressful Flight Environments

The purpose of this research was to investigate the effects that stress training has on stressful flight operations to mitigate the human factors preconditions to aircraft accidents. In addition, stress training implementation strategies were investigated in order to develop pedagogy pertinent to stress training. A series of three empirical experiments were performed to test the transfer of both human emotional states and task skills from a virtual environment to subsequent test scenarios. Results indicated that stress training improved performance, decreased physiological responses to stress, and decreased subjective appraisals of stress in a simulator criterion session. A second experiment tested the generalization of these results to a novel, real-world stressor. In this study, stress training in a flight simulator was found to enhance performance and moderate the adverse effects of stress when piloting an aircraft in a stressful flight environment. A third empirical study tested the transfer of flight simulator skills to a real-world flying task. Flight simulator training improved the performance of a training group when compared to a no-training, control group. This line of research demonstrates stress training as a viable approach for preparing trainees for stressful flight environments and stress in general.http://archive.org/details/stresseffectsont1094510441Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited

Improving the watch standing schedules of two US Navy watch floors in the San Diego area

The overarching aim of this project was to assess the work and rest schedules of shift workers on information warfare (IW) watchfloors with the ultimate goal of improving the quality of life and performance. Two US Navy watchfloors in the San Diego area were evaluated. The specific study objectives were to document the watchbills used, assess the strengths and weaknesses of the watchbills, estimate the overall readiness of the watchstanders participating in the study, and develop watchstanding and fatigue mitigation recommendations tailored to the two watchfloors in order to maximize watchstanders’ readiness. Data were collected between February and May 2023 (N=82 participants; 62.2% males, median age of 27 years ranging from 19 to 54 years, 85.4% enlisted). Using a quasi-experimental longitudinal approach, volunteer participants wore ŌURA rings and completed a series of standardized and validated questionnaires at the beginning and end of the study period. The body weight of 57.3% of participants was above normal (i.e., BMI>25), 97.6% reported consuming caffeinated beverages, 24.4% used nicotine products, and 85.6% had a regular exercise routine. Participants slept 6.71 hours per day (median); 62.3% of participants slept less than 7 hours per day and 14.5% slept less than 6 hours per day. Approximately 84% of the participants reported taking a nap during the data collection period; however, habitual napping was not highly prevalent with 25.5% of participants napping once every 10 days, and only 3.64% napping once every 4 days. Using standardized self-report assessment tools, 88.9% of the participants were classified as poor sleepers, 30.5% reported symptoms of excessive daytime sleepiness, 20.7% reported symptoms of insomnia, while 20.7% of the participants had all three conditions. Based on responses on the Profile of Mood States scale, the mood of Sailors on the two watchfloors was generally worse than normal adult populations with 74.1% of our participants scoring worse than the 50th percentile for total mood disturbance, 79.0% on the tension-anxiety subscale, 80.3% on the vigor-activity subscale, 72.8% on the fatigue subscale, and 80.3% on the confusion-bewilderment subscale. Compared to a sample of 568 Sailors underway on USN ships, the mood of the Sailors on the two watchfloors was worse in terms of tension-anxiety and confusion-bewilderment, but was equivalent for depression, anger-hostility, vigor-activity, fatigue, and total mood disturbance. One of the watchfloors being studied used a rotating 4-section/12-hour-shift watchbill with watchstanders rotating between day and night shifts every 30 days. The second watchfloor used a rotating 6-section/8-hour-shift watchbill with watchstanders rotating between days, eves, and mids every 30 days. Overall, our findings suggest that the 6-section/8-hour-shift watchbill is in general preferable to the 4-section/12-hour-shift watchbill. Based on the data collected from the two watchfloors, the predicted effectiveness of the two watchbills as assessed by the SAFTE/FAST model, the background literature on shiftwork, and the other studies conducted by the NPS Crew Endurance Team in military settings, we developed general guidelines and recommendations for fatigue mitigation.Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.Naval Postgraduate School, Naval Research Program (PE 0605853N/2098)Naval Postgraduate School, Naval Research Program; Naval Information Force

Sleepy and grumpy go hand in hand for US Navy Sailors

The article of record as published may be found at https://doi.org/10.1093/sleepadvances/zpae005Study Objectives: The study explores how sleep, sleep-related practices, and behaviors, in addition to various demographic and occupational characteristics, are related to overall mood of US Navy sailors when they are underway. Methods: Longitudinal assessment of US Navy sailors performing their underway duties (N = 873, 79.2% males, median age 25 years). Participants completed standardized questionnaires, wore wrist-worn actigraphs, and completed daily activity logs. Results: Sailors who reported worse profle of mood states (POMS) total mood disturbance scores had shorter sleep duration, worse sleep quality, and more episodes of split sleep. The group with worse mood also reported more symptoms of excessive daytime sleep iness as well as more symptoms of insomnia. In addition to sleep results, sailors with worse mood also tended to be younger, more likely to use nicotine and tobacco products, and less likely to have an exercise routine when compared to sailors with better POMS scores. Finally, the group with worse POMS scores included more enlisted personnel, tended to work more hours per day, and were more likely to stand watch—especially on rotating watch schedules. Conclusions: The results found significant associations between the sleep practices and mood of sailors aboard US Navy ships. Numerous other demographic and occupational factors were also strongly associated with mood. This paper is part of the Sleep and Circadian Rhythms: Management of Fatigue in Occupational Settings Collection

Stress training improves performance during a stressful flight

Objective: This study investigated whether stress training introduced during the acquisition of simulator-based flight skills enhances pilot performance during subsequent stressful flight operations in an actual aircraft. Background: Despite knowledge that preconditions to aircraft accidents can be strongly influenced by pilot stress, little is known about the effectiveness of stress training and how it transfers to operational flight settings. Method: For this study, 30 participants with no flying experience were assigned at random to a stress-trained treatment group or a control group. Stress training consisted of systematic pairing of skill acquisition in a flight simulator with stress coping mechanisms in the presence of a cold pressor. Control participants received identical flight skill acquisition training but without stress training. Participants then performed a stressful flying task in a Piper Archer aircraft. Results: Stress-trained research participants flew the aircraft more smoothly, as recorded by aircraft telemetry data, and generally better, as recorded by flight instructor evaluations, than did control participants. Conclusions: Introducing stress coping mechanisms during flight training improved performance in a stressful flying task. Application: The results of this study indicate that stress training during the acquisition of flight skills may serve to enhance pilot performance in stressful operational flight and, therefore, might mitigate the contribution of pilot stress to aircraft mishaps

A hybrid centralized-distributed mobility management architecture for network mobility

Objective: This study investigated whether stress training introduced during the acquisition of simulator-based flight skills enhances pilot performance during subsequent stressful flight operations in an actual aircraft. Background: Despite knowledge that preconditions to aircraft accidents can be strongly influenced by pilot stress, little is known about the effectiveness of stress training and how it transfers to operational flight settings. Method: For this study, 30 participants with no flying experience were assigned at random to a stress-trained treatment group or a control group. Stress training consisted of systematic pairing of skill acquisition in a flight simulator with stress coping mechanisms in the presence of a cold pressor. Control participants received identical flight skill acquisition training but without stress training. Participants then performed a stressful flying task in a Piper Archer aircraft. Results: Stress-trained research participants flew the aircraft more smoothly, as recorded by aircraft telemetry data, and generally better, as recorded by flight instructor evaluations, than did control participants. Conclusions: Introducing stress coping mechanisms during flight training improved performance in a stressful flying task. Application: The results of this study indicate that stress training during the acquisition of flight skills may serve to enhance pilot performance in stressful operational flight and, therefore, might mitigate the contribution of pilot stress to aircraft mishaps

Situation Awareness Implications of Adaptive Automation of Air Traffic Controller Information Processing Functions

The goal of this research was to define a measure of situation awareness (SA) in an air traffic control (ATC) task and to assess the influence of adaptive automation (AA) of various information processing functions on controller perception, comprehension and projection. The measure was also to serve as a basis for defining and developing an approach to triggering dynamic control allocations, as part of AA, based on controller SA. To achieve these objectives, an enhanced version of an ATC simulation (Multitask (copyright)) was developed for use in two human factors experiments. The simulation captured the basic functions of Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) and was capable of presenting to operators four different modes of control, including information acquisition, information analysis, decision making and action implementation automation, as well as a completely manual control mode. The SA measure that was developed as part of the research was based on the Situation Awareness Global Assessment Technique (SAGAT), previous goal-directed task analyses of enroute control and TRACON, and a separate cognitive task analysis on the ATC simulation. The results of the analysis on Multitask were used as a basis for formulating SA queries as part of the SAGAT-based approach to measuring controller SA, which was used in the experiments. A total of 16 subjects were recruited for both experiments. Half the subjects were used in Experiment #1, which focused on assessing the sensitivity and reliability of the SA measurement approach in the ATC simulation. Comparisons were made of manual versus automated control. The remaining subjects were used in the second experiment, which was intended to more completely describe the SA implications of AA applied to specific controller information processing functions, and to describe how the measure could ultimately serve as a trigger of dynamic function allocations in the application of AA to ATC. Comparisons were made of the sensitivity of the SA measure to automation manipulations impacting both higher-order information processing functions, such as information analysis and decision making, versus lower-order functions, including information acquisition and action implementation. All subjects were exposed to all forms of AA of the ATC task and the manual control condition. The approach to AA used in both experiments was to match operator workload, assessed using a secondary task, to dynamic control allocations in the primary task. In total, the subjects in each experiment participated in 10 trials with each lasting between 45 minutes and 1 hour. In both experiments, ATC performance was measured in terms of aircraft cleared, conflicting, and collided. Secondary task (gauge monitoring) performance was assessed in terms of a hit-to-signal ratio. As part of the SA measure, three simulation freezes were conducted during each trial to administer queries on Level 1, 2, and 3 SA

Effect of Immediate vs Gradual Reduction in Nicotine Content of Cigarettes on Biomarkers of Smoke Exposure: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

ImportanceThe optimal temporal approach for reducing nicotine to minimally or nonaddictive levels in all cigarettes sold in the United States has not been determined.ObjectivesTo determine the effects of immediate vs gradual reduction in nicotine content to very low levels and as compared with usual nicotine level cigarettes on biomarkers of toxicant exposure.Design, setting, and participantsA double-blind, randomized, parallel-design study with 2 weeks of baseline smoking and 20 weeks of intervention was conducted at 10 US sites. A volunteer sample of daily smokers with no intention to quit within 30 days was recruited between July 2014 and September 2016, with the last follow-up completed in March 2017.Interventions(1) Immediate reduction to 0.4 mg of nicotine per gram of tobacco cigarettes; (2) gradual reduction from 15.5 mg to 0.4 mg of nicotine per gram of tobacco cigarettes with 5 monthly dose changes; or (3) maintenance on 15.5 mg of nicotine per gram of tobacco cigarettes.Main outcomes and measuresBetween-group differences in 3 co-primary biomarkers of smoke toxicant exposure: breath carbon monoxide (CO), urine 3-hydroxypropylmercapturic acid (3-HPMA, metabolite of acrolein), and urine phenanthrene tetraol (PheT, indicator of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) calculated as area under the concentration-time curve over the 20 weeks of intervention.ResultsAmong 1250 randomized participants (mean age, 45 years; 549 women [44%]; 958 [77%] completed the trial), significantly lower levels of exposure were observed in the immediate vs gradual reduction group for CO (mean difference, -4.06 parts per million [ppm] [95% CI, -4.89 to -3.23]; P < .0055), 3-HPMA (ratio of geometric means, 0.83 [95% CI, 0.77 to 0.88]; P < .0055), and PheT (ratio of geometric means, 0.88 [95% CI, 0.83 to 0.93]; P < .0055). Significantly lower levels of exposure were observed in the immediate reduction vs control group for CO (mean difference, -3.38 [95% CI, -4.40 to -2.36]; P < .0055), 3-HPMA (ratio of geometric means, 0.81 [95% CI, 0.75 to 0.88]; P < .0055), and PheT (ratio of geometric means, 0.86 [95% CI, 0.81 to 0.92]; P < .0055). No significant differences were observed between the gradual reduction vs control groups for CO (mean difference, 0.68 [95% CI, -0.31 to 1.67]; P = .18), 3-HPMA (ratio of geometric means, 0.98 [95% CI, 0.91 to 1.06]; P = .64), and PheT (ratio of geometric means, 0.98 [95% CI, 0.92 to 1.04]; P = .52).Conclusions and relevanceAmong smokers, immediate reduction of nicotine in cigarettes led to significantly greater decreases in biomarkers of smoke exposure across time compared with gradual reduction or a control group, with no significant differences between gradual reduction and control.Trial registrationclinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT02139930