The submariners’ sleep study: a field investigation of sleep and circadian hormones during a 67-day submarine mission with a strict 6-h-on/6-h-off watch routine
Martine Van Puyvelde, Gerard Rietjens, Pieter H. Helmhout, Olivier Maîresse, Jeroen Van Cutsem, Nathalie Pattyn
Abstract
The current study has a unique character due to the field context in which the data were collected. Data on long-term submarine missions are scarce and valuable in terms of operational and ecological validity. Moreover, the results are important both from a scientific and operational point of view, showing that human physiology does not fully obey operational needs and that there are differences in adjustment dependent from the type of circadian hormone.
Topics & Concepts
MelatoninCircadian rhythmActigraphySleep (system call)CrewShift workZeitgeberSleep deprivationPhysiologyMedicinePsychologyEndocrinologyInternal medicineCircadian clockComputer scienceAeronauticsNeuroscienceEngineeringOperating systemSpaceflight effects on biologySleep and Work-Related FatigueCircadian rhythm and melatonin