Journal article

High risk of near-crash driving events following night-shift work

Michael L Lee, Mark E Howard, William J Horrey, Yulan Liang, Clare Anderson, Michael S Shreeve, Conor S O'Brien, Charles A Czeisler

PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA | NATL ACAD SCIENCES | Published : 2016

Abstract

Night-shift workers are at high risk of drowsiness-related motor vehicle crashes as a result of circadian disruption and sleep restriction. However, the impact of actual night-shift work on measures of drowsiness and driving performance while operating a real motor vehicle remains unknown. Sixteen night-shift workers completed two 2-h daytime driving sessions on a closed driving track at the Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety: (i) a postsleep baseline driving session after an average of 7.6 ± 2.4 h sleep the previous night with no night-shift work, and (ii) a postnight-shift driving session following night-shift work. Physiological measures of drowsiness were collected, including i..

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University of Melbourne Researchers

Grants

Awarded by National Institutes of Health


Awarded by National Space Biomedical Research Institute


Awarded by Department of Homeland Security Federal Emergency Management Agency Assistance to Firefighter Grant


Awarded by National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute


Awarded by National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health


Awarded by National Institute on Aging


Funding Acknowledgements

We thank the participants for taking part in the study. The authors acknowledge the contributions of Joseph Ronda for his technical expertise, Brandon Lockyer for scoring of the EEG and EOG data, Ms. Lorna Preston for editorial assistance, and Dr. Murray Johns for his advice concerning use of the Optalert. The authors also acknowledge Marvin Dainoff, Mary Lesch, and Vincent Ciriello for their comments and review of the project proposal and/or this manuscript. This study was supported by a grant from the Institute of Breathing and Sleep Research (to M.E.H.); by Liberty Mutual Insurance; National Institutes of Health Award 5T32HL7901-14 (to M.L.L.); National Space Biomedical Research Institute Award PF03002 (to M.L.L.); Department of Homeland Security Federal Emergency Management Agency Assistance to Firefighter Grant EMW-2010-FP-00521 (to C.A.C.); National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute Cooperative Agreement U01-HL111478 (to C.A.C.); National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health Grant R01-OH0103001 (to C.A.C.); National Institute on Aging Grant R01-AG044416 (to C.A.C.); and an endowed professorship provided to Harvard Medical School by Cephalon, Inc. (to C.A.C.). The content of this article is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program, National Institutes of Health, National Space Biomedical Research Institute, Institute of Breathing and Sleep, or Liberty Mutual Insurance Company. The federal sponsors did not have a role in the design and conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of the data; or preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript.