TD 32

Question 1

Self-Imposed Stressors

Answer 1

Drugs- illness and decreases in motor skills function, cognition, reaction time

Self medication
Overdose
Allergic reaction
Predictable side effects
Synergistic side effects
Caffeine

Exhaustion-
Causes: poor diet/hydration, poor sleep patterns, inadequate exercise, environmental factors, and combat stress
Side effects: altered levels of concentration, awareness, and inattention, increased drowsiness, and staring rather than scanning at night
Result: reduced mental alertness and causes crew members to respond more slowly to situations that require immediate action, degradation in performance, breakdown in crew resource management, prone to stare rather than scan
prevention- physical exercise (but not too much or it’ll become worse) and adequate rest especially for night flights

Alcohol-
-impairs judgement and coordination, staring rather than scanning at night, effects are long lasting
1 oz at sea level = 2,000 feet
3 oz at 4,000 feet = 10,000 feet
-causes histotoxic hypoxia and may combine with hypoxia hypoxia if at altitude- can cause LOC or death if flight > 60 minutes
-12 hours after last drink to any flight activity but time may vary for individuals
- poor judgement, decision making, perception, reaction time, coordination, scanning techniques (staring)

Tobacco- visual sensitivity at night starting at 4,000 feet, causes hypemic hypoxia

• hemoglobin has 200-300x greater affinity for carbon monoxide rather than oxygen
• 3 cigarettes quickly or 20-40 cigarettes in 24 hours, CO increases by 8-10%
• sea level = 5,000 feet to the body
• lose about 20% of night vision capability

Hypoglycemia-
-hunger pangs, distraction, habit pattern breakdown, shortened attention span
caused by an improper diet (fast sugars will provide energy for 30-45 minutes and then increase in intensity of negative effects),
-Vitamin A deficiency can impair night vision

Question 2

Fatigue

Answer 2

Fatigue is the state of feeling tired, weary, or sleepy that results from prolonged mental or physical work, extended periods of anxiety, exposure to harsh environments, or loss of sleep.

• increased by boring or monotonous tasks
• might not be aware of fatigue until they make serious errors
• causes: sleep deprivation, disrupted circadian cycles, or life-event stress

Types

• acute: physical or mental activity between two regular sleep periods; loss of coordination and lack of error awareness, can be resolved with one regular sleep period
  - inattention, distractibility, errors in timing, neglect of secondary tasks, loss of accuracy and control, lack of awareness of error accumulation, irritability
• chronic: occurs over a longer period of time, typically the result of inadequate recovery from successive periods of acute fatigue; mental and physical tiredness; may take several weeks
  - insomnia, depressed mood, irritability, weight loss, poor judgement, loss of appetite, slower reaction time, poor motivation and performance on the job
• motivational exhaustion (burnout): If chronic fatigue remains untreated for too long, the individual will eventually “shut down” and cease functioning occupationally and socially