Stress & Fatigue Flashcards
(35 cards)
Define Stress
the nonspecific response of the body to any demand placed on it
Is stress good or bad
Stress is neither good nor bad. It is the individual who defines the stress as good or bad. The same events can have different meanings, and therefore create “different stress,” for any 2 individuals
Physiological stressors (DEATH)
Drugs
Exhaustion
Alcohol
Tobacco
Hypoglycemia
What is hypoglycemia and its effects?
Low blood sugar and causes nervousness, shakiness, perspiration, dizziness, sleepiness, confusion, difficulty speaking, and feeling weak
Necessary abilities for crewmember performance
- Psychomotor abilities
- Attention
- Memory
- Judgment and decision making and prioritization of tasks
- Crew communication
Psychomotor abilities include
hand-eye coordination, muscular coordination, and strength
Self-imposed stress and aviation-specific stress have the what effects on Psychomotor abilities
Psychomotor abilities decline. For example, tracking abilities decrease, with a tendency toward more time off-target, over-corrections, and less smooth movements
Memory abilities decline during stress in which ways
Oversimplification Speed/accuracy tradeoffs
How does stress compromise the Judgment and Decision-making abilities
Judgment and decision-making abilities may be compromised by stress, with inexperienced crew members tending to make a disorganized assessment of alternatives, to rush to a decision, and to seek premature closure
Does stress cause greater or decreased tolerance for error?
greater
Self-imposed stress and aviation-specific stress have the what effects on attention abilities
- Perceptual Tunneling
- Cognitive Tunneling
- Task Shedding
The narrowing of sensory information processed by the brain (i.e. visual field) that can result from both emotional stress and cognitive workload
Perceptual Tunneling For example, a pilot may attend to the most significant stimuli (brightest light, loudest noise) at the expense of other perceptual cues
The cognitive abilities affected by the narrowing of what is considered important in the attention field is…
“Cognitive Tunneling” An example would be a pilot who does not appropriately monitor his airspeed because he is intently focusing on making the proper radio call at the proper time
How is tunneling carried to the extreme of task shedding
“Task Shedding” is tunneling carried to the extreme. This is when entire tasks are completely abandoned. For example, tunneling may be missing a radio call while on approach with a caution light illuminated, while task shedding is forgetting to do the pre-landing checks altogether
What is the best way to deal with stress
Minimize stressors
Practice good crew and cockpit communication
Change your thinking
Learn to relax
Ventilate stress
Combat and Operational Stress include
Combat and Operational Stress include “all the physiological and emotional stresses encountered as a direct result of the dangers and mission demands of combat” and other operational environments
Adaptive Stress Reactions include
i. Strong personal trust, loyalty, cohesiveness among peers ii. Personal trust, loyalty, and cohesiveness between leaders and subordinates iii. Esprit de corps or identification with the larger unit iv. For aircrews, unit cohesion binds crews together to perform the mission in spite of danger. Crewmembers know and trust their peers and leaders and understand their dependence on each other v. Strong sense of responsibility toward the unit and its members
Maladaptive Stress Reactions include what two categories
1) Misconduct Stress Behaviors 2) Combat and Operational Stress Reaction
The stress reaction that may look like symptoms of mental illness is
Combat and Operational Stress Reactions. Although they may look like symptoms of mental illness, they are typically transient and resolve within hours or days.
Factors that may decrease one’s vulnerability to combat stress (4 C’s)
Competence in your work Confidence in your abilities Cohesion (group) Control or perceived control
Define Fatigue
State of feeling tired, weary, or sleepy
5 stages of sleep
Stage 1: 5 - 10 minutes transition into sleep
Stage 2: light sleep
Stage 3/4: deep sleep “slow wave”, cell rebuilding Stage 5: REM
What is the Circadian cycle
Internal clock which regulates biological functions, to include alertness
According to the Circadian cycle, you are at your peak alertness between…
0800 and 1200
