Higher Functions And Perception Flashcards
What is circadian rhythm
Controls our sleep / awake periods
What is the endogenous circadian rhythm
The 24 hour body rhythm controlled by zeitgebers
What are zeitgebers
External factors that control the circadian rhythm
Sunrise sunset
Meal patterns
What is the free running circadian rhythm
25 hour cycle
Only happens when not effected by any zeitgebers
What body temperature makes it difficult to sleep
High body temp
What is a circadian High
High body temperature usually around 6pm ish
What is a circadian low
Lowest body temp usually around 4/5am ish
What is the most important internal factor affecting circadian rhythm
Body temperature
How many sleep credits do we get for every hour of sleep
2 sleep credits
what is the maximum number of sleep credits
16 sleep credits (8 hours of sleep)
How many sleep credits do you lose when awake
-1 sleep credit per hour
What reduces your sleep credits
Waking up early / disturbed sleep
What happens when you run out of sleep credits
Sleep debits/ deficits
At what rate do you accumulate sleep debits
1 debit / hour
How much sleep do you need to recover from a sleep debit
2x as much sleep do recover from 1 debit
What are he affects of sleep debits
Fatigue Moody Irritable Weak Reduced performance/concentration Increased errors More prone to illusions
What is the biggest danger in sleep debits
You might not realise performance is degrading
What measures brain activity
EEG
Electroencephalogram
What is the first stage of sleep
Drowsiness
Light sleep
What is the second stage of sleep
Light sleep
Short periods of fast eeg
What stage do you spend 50% of your time when asleep
Stage 2
What are stages 3/4 in sleep
Orthodox sleep / slow wave sleep
Deep sleep
What is stage 5 of sleep
Rapid eye movement (R.E.M.) / paradosicle
Eyes move behind eye lids
Dream stage
EEG in R.E.M. sleep is same as awake
Muscles paralysed to stop is acting out dreams
What is orthodox sleep
Stage 3/4
Body and cells recovering from the day / repairing
What is paradoxical sleep
Stage 5
Strengthens / organises memory
What is the rebound effect
Body / brains ability to determine how much orthodox/ paradox sleep is needed each night
How long is the time between falling asleep and the first R.E.M.
90 mins
What does the period of R.E.M. sleep do as the night goes on
Increases
How many R.E.M. sleep do you get a night
5 periods
What is the minimum duration for a nap to be restorative
10 mins
How long after a nap will you have slow responses
5 mins
How long after a nap will it take overall performance to restore to normal
20 mins
If you’re having a nap in a flight deck how long should you be awake before approach / decent starts
1 hour
What is microsleeps
Last a fraction of a second / few seconds
Might not be aware you’ve had one
No restorative properties
What is the other names for jet lag
Transmeridian desynchronisation
Circadian dysrhythmia
What does different time zones mean for the circadian rhythm
Out of sync as zeitgebers change
What direction is worst affected by jet lag
“West is best”
Therefor east is worst
What are the guidelines for recovery time from jet lag
1 day to recover for each time zone crossed
1 day for every 90 mins of jet lag
What is the formula for jet lag recovery
There isn’t one it is independent for every person
How do you minimise jet lag if you are staying in s location for over 24 hours
Adjust as soon as possible to new time zone
How do you minimise jet lag if you are staying in a location for less than 24 hours
Stay on your home time zone
How do you minimise jet lag if you are staying in a location for 24 hours
Nap when you first arrive, plan for have long sleep (8 hours) before next duty time
How to get best sleep you can
Don’t use sleeping pills Avoid alcohol / caffeine Don’t exercise before sleep Avoid mapping just before sleep Relaxation techniques / meditate Drink warm milky drinks Make room cold Make sure bed is comfy Use black out curtains
What just a crews attitude to sleep be
A crews attitude to sleep must be proactive
What is narcolepsy
Fall asleep anytime anywhere
Doesn’t need any sleep debits
What is sleep apnoea
Stop breathing during sleep
Disrupted sleep
Very tired
What is somnambulism
Sleep walking
What is somniloquism
Sleep talking
What is insomnia situational
Unable to sleep because of jet lag / uncomfy / too hot
What is insomnia clinical
Inability to sleep even when I’m that phase of circadian rhythm for sleep
Causes = stress anxiety
What sleeping pills can you use
NON UNLESS UNDER DIRECT INSTRUCTION FROM AME
What is fatigue
Extreme tiredness from mental / physical exertion or illness
What is acute fatigue
Short Term and quite normal
What causes acute fatigue
Over worked
Jet lag
Working patterns
Excitement (like a child at Christmas)
What can acute fatigue cause
Reduced performance / concentration More error prone Feeling tired / irritable Increased reaction times Reduced visual acuity Impaired judgement Fixation (tunnelling of attention) Reverse to old habits “reversion”
What is acute fatigue cured by
Sleep
Relaxation time
What is chronic fatigue
Associated with psychological issues
What causes chronic fatigue
Stressed
Anxiety
Underlying illness
What effect does chronic fatigue have
Wear and tear on the body
Digestive problems
Cardiovascular problems
Psychological / emotional problems
If you feel you are suffering from fatigue what should you do
Deem yourself unfit to fly
How to avoid manage fatigue
Get enough sleep
Nap
Accept if it’s a problem
Keep active mentally and physically
What is stress
Reaction / non specific response of the body that can be physiological/ psychological to demands / threats placed on a person
When do you encounter stress
Every day
What does encountering stressful situations do
Enables you to adapt and learn to manage certain situations (adaption)
Is stress positive or negative
Both
What does positive stress achieve
Small doses of positive stress needed to reach optimal performance
What is acute stress
Specific events or situations happening at that time
Quickly leads to mobilisation of resources to cope with it
Fight or flight (general adaption syndrome)
What is chronic stress
Long term repeated exposure to a stressful situation
Prolonged exposure to hormones = wear and tear on Body
What effect does stress have on your health and body in the head
Headaches
Constantly feeling nervous / anxious
Mouth can feel dry
Sweat
What effect does stress have on your health and body in the heart
Heart rate increases
Blood pressure increases
What effect does stress have on your health and body in the stomach
Nauseous
Change of appetite
Heart burn
Stomach ulcers
What effect does stress have on your health and body apart from head, heart, stomach
Risk of diabetes
Digestion problems
Reproductive problems
Immune system decreases
In what way does chronic stress affect cognition
Brain and mental ability decreases
Concentration and attention decreases
Errors increase
Memory decrease
How does cognitive stress cause you to complete tasks
With excessive haste
Error prone
Less accurate
How does chronic stress affect incoming information
Confirmation bias
How does chronic stress affect behaviour
Aggression Impatient Self destructive Eating more / less = change in appetite Withdraw
How does chronic stress affect personality
Depressed
Emotional
Tense
What are the external physiological (environmental) stress
Heat
Humidity
Noise
Shaky
What are the internal physiological (environmental) stresses
Hunger Thirst I’ll Fatigue Pain
What will physiological stresses do to the overall body
Put strain on the homeostasis nervous system
What temperature should the body be at
37°c ish
What is the best room temp
20°c ish
What happens to the body if it’s too hot
Sweat > dehydrated > body temp rises quicker > heat exhaustion > brain swells in skull (headache) > death (at internal temp of 43°c)
How long does it take to adjust to new climates
2 weeks
What body temp does hypothermia start to take place
35°c
What temperature does shivering commence
32 - 35°c
How does the situation of being too cold develop
Shiver > loses oxygen + energy > tired > pale > breathing rate increases > speech slurred > contentment (happy) > confusion > toes / fingers = frost bite > once internal temp below 32°c = sleep > coma > death
How does excess noise affect you
Decreases performance
What is the affect of 1-4 hz of vibration
Interference with breathing
Interfere with vision
What affect does 4-10 hz of vibration have
Chest / abdominal pain
What affect does 8-12 hz of vibration cause
Back ache
What affect does 10-20 hz of vibration cause
Pain in throat Headache Severe eye strain Speech difficult Muscular tension
What is the ideal humidity
40-60%
What are the symptoms of low humidity
Cough Dry skin Irritated eyes Dehydrated Dry throat / nose Allergies worse
When do mental / cognitive stress occur
Where the perceived demands of a task seem greater than the perceived ability to cope with the task
=
Don’t think we can cope with it
When can a overload of information occur inflight
Feeling behind the aircraft
What are non organisational / non professional / domestic stress issues
Death
Divorce
Money
What are examples of organisational stress
Anything within working environment
Work patterns Weather Checkrides Exams Time pressure Fuel saving Pax Sop Non ergonomically standardised equipment Lack of hand on flying
What is the greatest cause of stress
Death of a spouse
What is tidal breathing
Natural breathing in and out
What is inspiration reserve
Big breath in
What is expiator reserve
Big breath out
What is residual volume
Air you can’t get out
What is tidal capacity
6 litres
What is vital capacity
4.8 litres
Max forces me inhale
What is inspiratory capacity
3.6 litres
Big breath in
What functional residual capacity
2.4 litres
What makes haemoglobin
Bone marrow
What does the Eustachian tube do
Balances pressure between inner and outer ear
What reads alphanumeric information
Central vision
Fovea area
Where does myopia fall
Short of the retina
What are the twin objectives of human performance
The safety and efficiency of the operation and the well being of the individual
What’s the 2 branches of the autonomic system
Parasympathetic and sympathetic
What does parasympathetic do
Calms us down
Reduces heart rate / breathing rate
Reduces arousal
Prolonged the body’s ability to come with stress (reduces stress)
What does sympathetic do
Fight or flight
Increases arousal
Provides body with resources to come with stress
What is the first phase of the GAS
Alarm stage
First confronted with threatening situation
Sympathetic nervous system
Adrenalin hormone being pumped through body
What are the physical characteristics of the GAS alarm stage
Breathing rate /heart rate / blood pressure increase
Pupils dilate
Glucose levels increase
Tensed up mussels
Peristalsis (bowel movement stops)
Decrease in resistance to other stresses
What are the psychological characteristics of the alarm stage of GAS
Memory improves to draw past knowledge
Alertness increases
What is phase 2 of GAS
Resistance
Parasympathetic nervous system
Recover from initial reaction
Homeostasis
What are the physical characteristics of the resistance stage of GAS
Heart rate / breathing rate / blood pressure decreases
Glucose levels stay at same rate as in alarm stage to help cope with remaining stress
Cortisone secretion (pain killer) increases
What is phase 3 of GAS
Exhaustion stage
What happens in the exhaustion stage of GAS
Glucose and cortisone is still pumping into body
Run out of glucose = fatigue
Body trying to eliminate waste products produced from previous stages
What happens if exhaustion stage of GAS lasts too long
Heart disease
Stomach ulcers
Hypertension
Could kill us (after too long)
How are GAS reactions and phases the same?
TRICK!!
THEY ARE DIFFERENT DONT GET CONFUSED!!!
What is the first reaction to GAS
Psychological reaction
Brain recognises there is a threat (stressor)