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Summer Fatigue

  • Published
  • By Maj. Steve Gwinn
  • 375th Airlift Wing Safety Office, chief of flight safety
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. --  What is summer fatigue and why is this important for a base newspaper article? Can you say heat, humidity, longer days, exercises or work related stresses and general summer fun activities? We all want to enjoy the summer and have a good time but we must recognize fatigue as a known special risk in the summer, more prevalent than any other time of the year. 

Studies have shown that fatigue plays a role in all of our society. Fatigue has a negative impact on our safety, productivity and our quality of life. Early research has shown that fatigue has the general effect of moderate alcohol consumption. Job performance is affected every hour of being awake from 10 to 26 hours on an equivalent scale of .004 percent rise in blood alcohol. The same study shows that being awake for 18 hours is equal to a blood alcohol level of .05. After being awake for 24 hours a person has the equivalent mental degradation as someone with blood-alcohol content of .10. The legal limit for driving in most states is .08. Should you be working, driving home from a weekend on the lake or returning from an exhausting vacation with a BAC equivalent of .05? Obviously the answer is no. 

Speaking of alcohol--a known relaxing pastime during the summer months--we would be negligent if we ignored this contributor to fatigue. Dinner and a beverage, lake and a beverage, hard day at work and a beverage, you can't deny the use of alcohol and accurately manage risk. In fact, the National Institute of Health has identified a prevalence of heavy alcohol use among young military personnel that differs markedly from that of civilians in the same age group. Especially among young men 18-25 years old, the militaries highest risk age group overall. Excessive alcohol consumption and consumption just before bedtime is known to disrupt sleep cycles and cause day time fatigue and sleepiness, no matter how much you think it helps you fall asleep. 

An additional problem is self-identifying fatigue, something that is difficult to do. NASA, in a study on pilots, found the participants were most alert just six minutes before they actually fell asleep. What does this mean when you're driving down the road or performing a difficult work task? 

Know how to identify your personal limits and also what circumstances pose the biggest threats. Some of the main triggers to summer fatigue are sleep loss, circadian rhythm disruption, heat/humidity and alcohol consumption. These contributors have a direct effect on the amount of errors and accidents that occur. Fatigue and the associated errors can be prevented by individuals taking preemptive measures. Plan a day off before coming back to work from a busy weekend or vacation. Know that if you work 12-hour shifts, at the nine-hour point you will start to make more mistakes. Know that everyone has a hard time staying awake between 4 a.m. and 6 a.m. Use sound operational risk management and the Wingman concept. We want to see you back at work in an effective manner with a big smile on your face, so have fun but please use common sense and be safe.