Changes in performance and bio-mathematical model performance predictions during 45 days of sleep restriction in a simulated space mission

Abstract

Lunar habitation and exploration of space beyond low-Earth orbit will require small crews to live in isolation and confinement while maintaining a high level of performance with limited support from mission control. Astronauts only achieve approximately 6 h of sleep per night, but few studies have linked sleep deficiency in space to performance impairment. We studied crewmembers over 45 days during a simulated space mission that included 5 h of sleep opportunity on weekdays and 8 h of sleep on weekends to characterize changes in performance on the psychomotor vigilance task (PVT) and subjective fatigue ratings. We further evaluated how well bio-mathematical models designed to predict performance changes due to sleep loss compared to objective performance. We studied 20 individuals during five missions and found that objective performance, but not subjective fatigue, declined from the beginning to the end of the mission. We found that bio-mathematical models were able to predict average changes across the mission but were less sensitive at predicting individual-level performance. Our findings suggest that sleep should be prioritized in lunar crews to minimize the potential for performance errors. Bio-mathematical models may be useful for aiding crews in schedule design but not for individual-level fitness-for-duty decisions.

Sleep, time, and space—fatigue and performance deficits in pilots, commercial truck drivers, and astronauts

“…The research about pilots [ 40–42 , 45 , 47–49 , 51–53 , 58 , 60–62 , 64 , 65 , 67 ], truck drivers [ 50 , 56 , 63 ], and astronauts [ 43 , 44 , 46 , 54 , 55 , 57 , 59 , 66 ] included laboratory studies (e.g. conducted in stimulators) [ 43 , 44 , 53 , 56 , 57 , 59 , 66 ] and field investigations (where data acquisition occurred during normal occupational activities) [ 40–42 , 45–52 , 54 , 55 , 58 , 60–65 , 67 ].…”

Effects of dynamic lighting on circadian phase, self‐reported sleep and performance during a 45‐day space analog mission with chronic variable sleep deficiency

“…This resulted in an analytic data set from 16 astronaut-aged participants (eight per lighting condition; mean age ± SD = 37.4 ± 6.7 years; five females) All participants underwent medical, psychological, and behavioral screening, including assessment for color vision deficiency, before the study. Participant recruitment, screening, and study oversight were provided by NASA personnel; further information is provided in Flynn-Evans et al 28 For 14 days pre-mission, participants underwent mission training. All participants provided written, informed consent, and the study was approved by the NASA Institutional Review Board (NASA IRB Pro2328) and Partners Human Research Committee (2017-P-000059).…”

Evaluating the root causes of fatigue and associated risk factors in the Brazilian regular aviation industry

“…The SF model [8] is a three step algorithm that takes into account the homeostatic process, the circadian rhythms associated with sleep and wakefulness and the sleep inertia. Such biomatematical model has being successfully validated against human factor railroad accidents [27,28], as well as with psychomotor vigilance test (PVT) measurements under aviation operational environments [15] and in a simulated space mission with sleep restrictions [19]. As we have shown recently, the relative probability of railroad accidents caused by human factors, herein denoted as P HF , increases inversely with E SF , such that:…”

“…More recently, Cochrane et al also emphasized the importance of considering non-linear relationships between fatigue and risk [18]. In a simulated space mission with sleep restrictions, Flynn-Evans et al successfully described average changes in performance with bio-mathematical models [19]. Reviews of the basic features of some of the available biomathematical models usually adopted in the aviation industry can be found elsewhere [20][21][22].…”