Abstract
Laboratory research has revealed considerable systematic variability in the degree to which individuals’ alertness and performance are affected by sleep deprivation. However, little is known about whether or not different populations exhibit similar levels of individual variability. In the present study, we examined individual variability in performance impairment due to sleep loss in a highly select population of military jet pilots. Ten active-duty F-117 pilots were deprived of sleep for 38 h and studied repeatedly in a high-fidelity flight simulator. Data were analyzed with a mixed-model ANOVA to quantify individual variability. Statistically significant, systematic individual differences in the effects of sleep deprivation were observed, even when baseline differences were accounted for. The findings suggest that highly select populations may exhibit individual differences in vulnerability to performance impairment from sleep loss just as the general population does. Thus, the scientific and operational communities’ reliance on group data as opposed to individual data may entail substantial misestimation of the impact of job-related stressors on safety and performance.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Belenky, G., Wesensten, N. J., Thorne, D. R., Thomas, M. L., Sing, H. C., Redmond, D. P., et al. (2003). Patterns of performance degradation and restoration during sleep restriction and subsequent recovery: A sleep dose-response study.Journal of Sleep Research,12, 1–12.
Burton, P., Gurrin, L., &Sly, P. (1998). Extending the simple linear regression model to account for correlated responses: An introduction to generalized estimating equations and multi-level mixed modeling.Statistics in Medicine,17, 1261–1291.
Caldwell, J. A. (2005). Fatigue in aviation.Journal of Travel Medicine & Infectious Disease,3, 85–96.
Caldwell, J. A., Caldwell, J. L., Brown, D. L., &Smith, J. K. (2004). The effects of 37 hours of continuous wakefulness on the physiological arousal, cognitive performance, self-reported mood, and simulator flight performance of F-117A pilots.Military Psychology,16, 163–181.
Caldwell, J. A., Caldwell, J. L., Brown, D. L., Smythe, N. K., Smith, J. K., Mylar, J. T., et al. (2003).The effects of 37 hours of continuous wakefulness on the physiological arousal, cognitive performance, self-reported mood, and simulator flight performance of F-117A pilots (Rep. No. AFRL-HE-BR-TR-2003-0086). Brooks City-Base, TX: Air Force Research Laboratory.
Cox, D. R., &Solomon, P. J. (2004).Components of variance. Boca Raton: Chapman & Hall/CRC.
Curran-Everett, D. (2000). Multiple comparisons: Philosophies and illustrations.American Journal of Physiology: Regulatory, Integrative, & Comparative Physiology,279, R1-R8.
Feldman, H. A. (1988). Families of lines: Random effects in linear regression analysis.Journal of Applied Physiology,64, 1721–1732.
Goldstein, H. (1995).Multilevel statistical models. London: Arnold.
Johnson, M. P., Duffy, J. F., Dijk, D.-J., Ronda, J. M., Dyal, C. M., &Czeisler, C. A. (1992). Short-term memory, alertness and performance: A reappraisal of their relationship to body temperature.Journal of Sleep Research,1, 24–29.
Kane, M. J., &Engle, R. W. (2002). The role of prefrontal cortex in working-memory capacity, executive attention, and general fluid intelligence: An individual-differences perspective.Psychonomic Bulletin & Review,9, 637–671.
Khuri, A. I., Mathew, T., &Sinha, B. K. (1998).Statistical tests for mixed linear models. New York: Wiley.
Kosslyn, S. M., Cacioppo, J. T., Davidson, R. J., Hugdahl, K., Lovallo, W. R., Spiegel, D., &Rose, R. (2002). Bridging psychology and biology: The analysis of individuals in groups.American Psychologist,57, 341–351.
Landis, J. R., &Koch, G. G. (1977). The measurement of observer agreement for categorical data.Biometrics,33, 159–174.
Leproult, R., Colecchia, E. F., Berardi, A. M., Stickgold, R., Kosslyn, S. M., &Van Cauter, E. (2003). Individual differences in subjective and objective alertness during sleep deprivation are stable and unrelated.American Journal of Physiology: Regulatory, Integrative, & Comparative Physiology,284, R280-R290.
Mallis, M. M., Neri, D. F., Oyung, R., Colletti, L., Nguyen, T., &Dinges, D. F. (2002). Stability of behavioral alertness in pilots repeating simulated night flights.Sleep,25(Suppl.), A443.
McNair, D. M., Lorr, M., &Droppleman, L. F. (1971).Manual for the Profile of Mood States. San Diego: Educational and Industrial Testing Service.
Penetar, D., McCann, U., Thorne, D., Kamimori, G., Galinski, C., Sing, H., et al. (1993). Caffeine reversal of sleep deprivation effects on alertness and mood.Psychopharmacology,112, 359–365.
Rao, P. S. R. S. (1997).Variance components estimation. London: Chapman & Hall.
Singer, J. D. (1998). Using SAS PROC MIXED to fit multilevel models, hierarchical models, and individual growth models.Journal of Educational & Behavioral Statistics,24, 323–355.
Van Dongen, H. P. A. (2005). Analysis of inter- and intra-individual variability.Journal of Sleep Research,14, 201–203.
Van Dongen, H. P. A., Baynard, M. D., Maislin, G., &Dinges, D. F. (2004). Systematic interindividual differences in neurobehavioral impairment from sleep loss: Evidence of trait-like differential vulnerability.Sleep,27, 423–433.
Van Dongen, H. P. A., &Dinges, D. F. (2000). Circadian rhythms in fatigue, alertness, and performance. In M. H. Kryger, T. Roth, & W. C. Dement (Eds.),Principles and practice of sleep medicine (3rd ed., pp. 391–399). Philadelphia: Saunders.
Van Dongen, H. P. A., Maislin, G., &Dinges, D. F. (2004). Dealing with inter-individual differences in the temporal dynamics of fatigue and performance: Importance and techniques.Aviation, Space, & Environmental Medicine,75, A147-A154.
Van Dongen, H. P. A., Maislin, G., Mullington, J. M., &Dinges, D. F. (2003). The cumulative cost of additional wakefulness: Dose-response effects on neurobehavioral functions and sleep physiology from chronic sleep restriction and total sleep deprivation.Sleep,26, 117–126.
Van Dongen, H. P. A., Olofsen, E., Dinges, D. F., &Maislin, G. (2004). Mixed-model regression analysis and dealing with interindividual differences.Methods of Enzymology,384, 139–171.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
This work was supported by the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command, Fort Detrick, MD; the U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR); and the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory. H.P.A.V.D. was supported by AFOSR Grant FA9550-05-1-0086 and NIH Grant R01-HL70154, and by the Institute for Experimental Psychiatry Research Foundation.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Van Dongen, H.P.A., Caldwell, J.A. & Caldwell, J.L. Investigating systematic individual differences in sleep-deprived performance on a high-fidelity flight simulator. Behavior Research Methods 38, 333–343 (2006). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03192785
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03192785