Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

This research examined the potential interactions of age, sleep deprivation, and simulated altitude (gas mixtures). Healthy men aged from 30 to 39 years (N = 16) and from 60 to 69 years (N = 14) participated in the four possible combinations of two altitudes (ground versus 3810 m) and two sleep conditions (sleep permitted/sleep deprived). Sleep deprivation involved loss of one night's sleep. Following training, complex (time-shared) performance was tested during three-hour sessions in the morning and afternoon of each of four test days. Tasks included monitoring of warning lights and meters, mental arithmetic, problem solving, target identification, and tracking. Workload was varied within each hour by varying the tasks performed simultaneously. There was a significant interaction of sleep deprivation and altitude that was enhanced by increasing workload. When the subjects were sleep deprived, performance was significantly lower in general, and the greatest decrement in performance occurred at altitude. The performance of older subjects tended to be lower and more affected by increases in workload than was that of younger subjects, but the detrimental effects of sleep deprivation or the combination of sleep deprivation and altitude did not appear to interact with age.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Alluisi, E. A. (1967). Methodology in the use of synthetic tasks to assess complex performance. Human Factors, 9, 375–384.

Brezinova, V. , Hart, V. , and Vojtechovsky, M. (1969). Sleep deprivation with respect to age: An EEG study. Activitas Nervosa Superior (Praha), 11, 182–187.

Chiles, W. D. , and Alluisi, E. A. (1979). On the specification of operator or occupational workload with performance-measurement methods. Human Factors, 21(5), 515–528.

Chiles, w. D. , Alluisi, E. A. , and Adams, O. S. (1968). Work schedules and performance during confinement. Human Factors, 10, 143–196.

Dennis, D. M. (1973). Predicting full scale WAIS IOs with the Shipley-Hartford. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 29, 366–368.

Jennings, A. E. , Chiles, W. D. , and West, G. (1972). Methodology in the measurement of human performance: Two dimensional compensatory tracking (FAA-AM-72.21). Washington, DC: FAA Office of Aviation Medicine.

Johnson, L. C. (1982). Sleep deprivation and performance. In W. B. Webb (Ed.), Biological rhythms, sleep, and performance. New York: Wiley.

Lottig, V. H. (1938). Über den Einfluss von Alkohol, Nikotin und Schlafmangel auf die Hohenfestigkeit (On the effects of alcohol, nicotine, and sleep loss on altitude fitness). Luftfahrt-Medizinische Abhandlungen, 2, 218–233.

McFarland, R. A. (1941). The effects of oxygen deprivation (high altitude) on the human organism (TDR-11). Washington, DC: Civil Aeronautics Authority.

10.

McFarland, R. A. (1953). Human factors in air transportation. New York: McGraw-Hill.

11.

Mertens, H. W. , Higgins, E. A. , and McKenzie, J. M. (1983). Age, altitude, and workload effects on complex performance (FAA-AM-83-15). Washington, DC: FAA Office of Aviation Medicine.

12.

Morgan, B. B., Jr. , and Alluisi, E. A. (1972). Synthetic work: Methodology for assessment of human performance. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 35, 835–845.

13.

National Academy of Science, Institute of Medicine . (1981). Airline pilot age, health, and performance: Scientific and medical considerations. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

14.

Thackray, R. I. , Bailey, J. P. , and Touchstone, R. M. (1977). Physiological, subjective, and performance correlates of reported boredom and monotony while performing a simulated radar control task. In R. R. Mackie (Ed.), Vigilance: Theory, operational performance and physiological correlates (pp. 203–215). London: Plenum.

15.

Webb, W. B. , and Levy, C. M. (1982). Age, sleep deprivation, and performance. Psychophysiology, 19, 272–276.

16.

Webb, W. B. (1985). A further analysis of age and sleep deprivation effects. Psychophysiology, 22, 156–161.

The Effects of Age,Sleep Deprivation,and Altitude on Complex Performance

Abstract

Get full access to this article

References