Stress & Fatigue

Question 1

Define Stress

Answer 1

the nonspecific response of the body to any demand placed on it

Question 2

Is stress good or bad

Answer 2

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

Question 3

Physiological stressors (DEATH)

Answer 3

Drugs
Exhaustion
Alcohol
Tobacco
Hypoglycemia

Question 4

What is hypoglycemia and its effects?

Answer 4

Low blood sugar and causes nervousness, shakiness, perspiration, dizziness, sleepiness, confusion, difficulty speaking, and feeling weak

Question 5

Necessary abilities for crewmember performance

Answer 5

• Psychomotor abilities
• Attention
• Memory
• Judgment and decision making and prioritization of tasks
• Crew communication

Question 6

Psychomotor abilities include

Answer 6

hand-eye coordination, muscular coordination, and strength

Question 7

Self-imposed stress and aviation-specific stress have the what effects on Psychomotor abilities

Answer 7

Psychomotor abilities decline. For example, tracking abilities decrease, with a tendency toward more time off-target, over-corrections, and less smooth movements

Question 8

Memory abilities decline during stress in which ways

Answer 8

Oversimplification Speed/accuracy tradeoffs

Question 9

How does stress compromise the Judgment and Decision-making abilities

Answer 9

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

Question 10

Does stress cause greater or decreased tolerance for error?

Answer 10

greater

Question 11

Self-imposed stress and aviation-specific stress have the what effects on attention abilities

Answer 11

• Perceptual Tunneling
• Cognitive Tunneling
• Task Shedding

Question 12

The narrowing of sensory information processed by the brain (i.e. visual field) that can result from both emotional stress and cognitive workload

Answer 12

Perceptual Tunneling For example, a pilot may attend to the most significant stimuli (brightest light, loudest noise) at the expense of other perceptual cues

Question 13

The cognitive abilities affected by the narrowing of what is considered important in the attention field is…

Answer 13

“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

Question 14

How is tunneling carried to the extreme of task shedding

Answer 14

“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

Question 15

What is the best way to deal with stress

Answer 15

Minimize stressors
Practice good crew and cockpit communication
Change your thinking
Learn to relax
Ventilate stress

Question 16

Combat and Operational Stress include

Answer 16

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

Question 17

Adaptive Stress Reactions include

Answer 17

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

Question 18

Maladaptive Stress Reactions include what two categories

Answer 18

1) Misconduct Stress Behaviors 2) Combat and Operational Stress Reaction

Question 19

The stress reaction that may look like symptoms of mental illness is

Answer 19

Combat and Operational Stress Reactions. Although they may look like symptoms of mental illness, they are typically transient and resolve within hours or days.

Question 20

Factors that may decrease one’s vulnerability to combat stress (4 C’s)

Answer 20

Competence in your work Confidence in your abilities Cohesion (group) Control or perceived control

Question 21

Define Fatigue

Answer 21

State of feeling tired, weary, or sleepy

Question 22

5 stages of sleep

Answer 22

Stage 1: 5 - 10 minutes transition into sleep
Stage 2: light sleep
Stage 3/4: deep sleep “slow wave”, cell rebuilding Stage 5: REM

Question 23

What is the Circadian cycle

Answer 23

Internal clock which regulates biological functions, to include alertness

Question 24

According to the Circadian cycle, you are at your peak alertness between…

Answer 24

0800 and 1200

Question 25

According to the Circadian cycle, you are at your lowest level of alertness between…

Answer 25

1300 and 1500

Question 26

Mental fatigue is

Answer 26

The feeling of weariness that results from repetitive performance of nonphysical tasks it can be caused or made worse by anxiety, apprehension, and stress

Question 27

The severity of fatigue can be modified by psychological factors such as

Answer 27

the amount of time soldiers expect to be working, the expected difficulty of the work, and the expected reward

Question 28

Signs and symptoms of fatigue include

Answer 28

a. Impaired attention and concentration
b. Feeling or appearing dull and sluggish
c. General attempt to conserve energy by reducing body movements to a minimum
d. Feeling or appearing careless, uncoordinated, confused, and irritable
e. Staring into space. Eye blink frequency will be greatly reduced in aircrew members who are extremely fatigued
f. Increased physical or health complaints, such as headaches, stomachaches, loss of appetite

Question 29

Effects of fatigue on Reaction time performance

Answer 29

Reaction time increases: a. Increased errors in timing and accuracy b. Not as “smooth” on the controls c. Slow and irregular movements

Question 30

Complete loss of awareness and failure to respond to any external stimuli due to increased lapses of attention, also known as

Answer 30

Micro-sleeps a. Micro-sleeps may last from 1 to 10 seconds b. Micro-sleeps increase in frequency and duration as sleep deprivation increases

Question 31

Effects of fatigue on memory

Answer 31

Memory is diminished, new learning declines

Question 32

What are the 4 types of stressors P,E,P,C,

Answer 32

1. Psychosocial: Life events, work, family issues, illness
2. Environmental: Altitude, Speed, Temp, Aircraft
3. Physiological: Drugs, Exhaustion, Alcohol, Tobacco, Hypoglycemia
4. Cognitive: How one perceives a situation (pessimism, obsession, failure to focus on the present

Question 33

The two physical changes of stress that we control are?

Answer 33

Shortness of Breath

Muscle Tension

Question 34

What are the 4 C’s of coping with combat stress?

Answer 34

Competence
Confidence
Cohecency
Control

Question 35

How long does it take to fully recover from sleep inertia?

Answer 35

20 -30 minutes