The effects of carbon dioxide exposure concentrations on human vigilance and sentiment in an enclosed workplace environment

Abstract

In this study, fifteen participants were exposed to different carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations in an enclosed environmental chamber to investigate the potential effects of elevated CO2 concentrations on human vigilance and sentiment. The psychomotor vigilance test (PVT), the Karolinska Sleepiness Scale (KSS), and the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) were measured before and after each 4‐hour CO2 exposure session. The statistical analyses of the PVT performance metrics showed that the human vigilance decreased significantly with the elevated CO2 concentration from 1500 ppm to above 3500 ppm, but no significant change was observed in the KSS score. Moreover, although the participants reported less positive and more negative emotions as the CO2 exposure concentration increased, the effect of CO2 concentration on human sentiment was not potent. In sum, the findings suggested a detrimental effect of CO2 exposure concentration on human vigilance at the CO2 concentration of 3500 ppm, which is below the current occupational exposure limit of 5000 ppm. It is worth noting that the order of CO2 exposures was not balanced among the participants, which remains a major limitation of this study.

Carbon dioxide effects on daytime sleepiness and EEG signal: A combinational approach using classical frequentist and Bayesian analyses

“…In the present study, a statistically significant difference was observed in the main effect of time but not CO 2 conditions in the classical repeated ANOVA consistent with two recent studies, 27,38 indicating that daytime sleepiness developed even under control normocapnic conditions. A previous study found that CO 2 at around 3000 ppm resulted in changes in heart rate variability with increased sleepiness 16 .…”

Effects of increased recirculation air rate and aircraft cabin occupancy on passengers’ health and well-being – Results from a randomized controlled trial

“…Especially the self-reported highest sleepiness in the fully occupied Max. CO 2 condition that is in line with previous research (e.g., Vehviläinen et al, 2016 ; Zhang et al, 2017 ), although not found by others (e.g., Pang et al, 2021 ), is intriguing as objectively measured cardiovascular recovery time is the lowest in this condition. It underpins the stress assumption of feeling exhausted without being able to relax on a physiological level.…”

Associations of Human Cognitive Abilities with Elevated Carbon Dioxide Concentrations in an Enclosed Chamber

“…Furthermore, our results indicated that attention, risky decision-making, and executive ability were significantly impaired as the CO 2 concentration increased from 1500 to 5000 ppm. Similarly, a significant detrimental effect of CO 2 exposure on vigilance was also found at concentrations as low as 3500 ppm using the psychomotor vigilance test (PVT) in our previous study [35]. Snow et al [13] stated that the increase in CO 2 concentration from 800 to 2700 ppm could lead to reduced cognitive flexibility and executive ability, given lack of learning effect, as examined by the shifting attention test and the Stroop test.…”