Stress & Fatigue Flashcards
Define Stress
the nonspecific response of the body to any demand placed on it
Is stress good or bad
Stress is neither good nor bad. It is the individual who defines the stress as good or bad. The same events can have different meanings, and therefore create “different stress,” for any 2 individuals
Physiological stressors (DEATH)
Drugs
Exhaustion
Alcohol
Tobacco
Hypoglycemia
What is hypoglycemia and its effects?
Low blood sugar and causes nervousness, shakiness, perspiration, dizziness, sleepiness, confusion, difficulty speaking, and feeling weak
Necessary abilities for crewmember performance
- Psychomotor abilities
- Attention
- Memory
- Judgment and decision making and prioritization of tasks
- Crew communication
Psychomotor abilities include
hand-eye coordination, muscular coordination, and strength
Self-imposed stress and aviation-specific stress have the what effects on Psychomotor abilities
Psychomotor abilities decline. For example, tracking abilities decrease, with a tendency toward more time off-target, over-corrections, and less smooth movements
Memory abilities decline during stress in which ways
Oversimplification Speed/accuracy tradeoffs
How does stress compromise the Judgment and Decision-making abilities
Judgment and decision-making abilities may be compromised by stress, with inexperienced crew members tending to make a disorganized assessment of alternatives, to rush to a decision, and to seek premature closure
Does stress cause greater or decreased tolerance for error?
greater
Self-imposed stress and aviation-specific stress have the what effects on attention abilities
- Perceptual Tunneling
- Cognitive Tunneling
- Task Shedding
The narrowing of sensory information processed by the brain (i.e. visual field) that can result from both emotional stress and cognitive workload
Perceptual Tunneling For example, a pilot may attend to the most significant stimuli (brightest light, loudest noise) at the expense of other perceptual cues
The cognitive abilities affected by the narrowing of what is considered important in the attention field is…
“Cognitive Tunneling” An example would be a pilot who does not appropriately monitor his airspeed because he is intently focusing on making the proper radio call at the proper time
How is tunneling carried to the extreme of task shedding
“Task Shedding” is tunneling carried to the extreme. This is when entire tasks are completely abandoned. For example, tunneling may be missing a radio call while on approach with a caution light illuminated, while task shedding is forgetting to do the pre-landing checks altogether
What is the best way to deal with stress
Minimize stressors
Practice good crew and cockpit communication
Change your thinking
Learn to relax
Ventilate stress
Combat and Operational Stress include
Combat and Operational Stress include “all the physiological and emotional stresses encountered as a direct result of the dangers and mission demands of combat” and other operational environments
Adaptive Stress Reactions include
i. Strong personal trust, loyalty, cohesiveness among peers ii. Personal trust, loyalty, and cohesiveness between leaders and subordinates iii. Esprit de corps or identification with the larger unit iv. For aircrews, unit cohesion binds crews together to perform the mission in spite of danger. Crewmembers know and trust their peers and leaders and understand their dependence on each other v. Strong sense of responsibility toward the unit and its members
Maladaptive Stress Reactions include what two categories
1) Misconduct Stress Behaviors 2) Combat and Operational Stress Reaction
The stress reaction that may look like symptoms of mental illness is
Combat and Operational Stress Reactions. Although they may look like symptoms of mental illness, they are typically transient and resolve within hours or days.
Factors that may decrease one’s vulnerability to combat stress (4 C’s)
Competence in your work Confidence in your abilities Cohesion (group) Control or perceived control
Define Fatigue
State of feeling tired, weary, or sleepy
5 stages of sleep
Stage 1: 5 - 10 minutes transition into sleep
Stage 2: light sleep
Stage 3/4: deep sleep “slow wave”, cell rebuilding Stage 5: REM
What is the Circadian cycle
Internal clock which regulates biological functions, to include alertness
According to the Circadian cycle, you are at your peak alertness between…
0800 and 1200
According to the Circadian cycle, you are at your lowest level of alertness between…
1300 and 1500
Mental fatigue is
The feeling of weariness that results from repetitive performance of nonphysical tasks it can be caused or made worse by anxiety, apprehension, and stress
The severity of fatigue can be modified by psychological factors such as
the amount of time soldiers expect to be working, the expected difficulty of the work, and the expected reward
Signs and symptoms of fatigue include
a. Impaired attention and concentration
b. Feeling or appearing dull and sluggish
c. General attempt to conserve energy by reducing body movements to a minimum
d. Feeling or appearing careless, uncoordinated, confused, and irritable
e. Staring into space. Eye blink frequency will be greatly reduced in aircrew members who are extremely fatigued
f. Increased physical or health complaints, such as headaches, stomachaches, loss of appetite
Effects of fatigue on Reaction time performance
Reaction time increases: a. Increased errors in timing and accuracy b. Not as “smooth” on the controls c. Slow and irregular movements
Complete loss of awareness and failure to respond to any external stimuli due to increased lapses of attention, also known as
Micro-sleeps a. Micro-sleeps may last from 1 to 10 seconds b. Micro-sleeps increase in frequency and duration as sleep deprivation increases
Effects of fatigue on memory
Memory is diminished, new learning declines
What are the 4 types of stressors P,E,P,C,
- Psychosocial: Life events, work, family issues, illness
- Environmental: Altitude, Speed, Temp, Aircraft
- Physiological: Drugs, Exhaustion, Alcohol, Tobacco, Hypoglycemia
- Cognitive: How one perceives a situation (pessimism, obsession, failure to focus on the present
The two physical changes of stress that we control are?
Shortness of Breath
Muscle Tension
What are the 4 C’s of coping with combat stress?
Competence
Confidence
Cohecency
Control
How long does it take to fully recover from sleep inertia?
20 -30 minutes
