Examining Physical and Emotional Fatigue Factors in Aviation Crew

This report examines the impact of physical and emotional fatigue on aviation personnel, particularly pilots and air traffic controllers. It highlights how factors such as poor nutrition, dehydration, and emotional stress can significantly impair cognitive function, leading to reduced concentration and increased error rates. The report emphasizes the importance of healthy lifestyles, including balanced diets and adequate hydration, to mitigate fatigue and enhance performance. It also delves into the effects of emotional fatigue, linking mental boredom, anxiety, and stress to impaired decision-making and judgment. The report concludes by underscoring the necessity of addressing these physical, health, and emotional factors to ensure a safe and efficient aviation environment, noting that Desklib offers additional resources and solved assignments for students studying these topics.

Running Head: PHYSICAL AND EMOTIONAL FACTORS 1
Physical and Emotional Fatigue Factor’s
Student’s Name
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PHYSICAL AND EMOTIONAL FACTORS 2
Table of Contents
4.0 Physical and Emotional Fatigue...........................................................................................3
4.1 Health Factors.......................................................................................................................3
4.1.1 Importance of a Healthy Diet...............................................................................................3
4.1 Effects of dehydration...........................................................................................................4
4.2 Emotional Fatigue...............................................................................................................4
4.3 Physical Fatigue..................................................................................................................5
References........................................................................................................................................6

PHYSICAL AND EMOTIONAL FACTORS 3
4.0 Physical and Emotional Fatigue
Physical fatigue describes the inability to exert force with ones muscles. Physical fatigue
may bring soreness sin muscles, oxygen debt as well as total tireredness especially when one is
restricted to little or no sleep. It also can result from illness or poor feeding habits (Federal
Aviation Administration, 2016).
Emotional fatigue regards the inability to engage in light and complex or activities. It
results` from engaging in objectionable tasks, unfavourable working environments like lack of
necessary tools, poor lighting, and pressure to meet deadlines (Rainford & Gradwell, 2016).
These factors altogether alter the cognitive ability to lead reduced levels of concentration
at duty and consequently raising the probability to make errors in the aviation domain especially
for pilots and ATCOs (Figley, 2013).
4.1 Health Factors
Illness falls in the category of the non-sleep fatigue causes (van Drongelen et al., 2014).
Healthy lifestyles are advised for pilots in order to meet the demands of their profession. One’s
lifestyle, eating habits and hormone levels influence the fourth circle of fatigue. It is conformed
that fatigue is a chief symptom for many health disorders. Medical treatment for diseases are also
characterised with fatigue. For example, a prescription of cholesterol-lowering statins and
antidepressants may result into muscle weakness and fatigue.
4.1.1 Importance of a Healthy Diet
Poor nutrition is among the causes of pilot fatigue (Cosgrove, 2013). Dehydration and
eating too much or not eating enough, for lead to health disorders such as excess body weight
and low blood sugar level (Perry, 2018. A healthy diet is advised when one is outside flight and
duty in order to improve the cognitive ability. A healthy diet indirectly influences increased level
of attention/ concentration, efficient communication within the crew, efficient reaction time and
sensitivity to time on task, a steady performance, good memory ability and decision making,
good mood, and consequently reduced errors in the aviation domain. During flight, consuming
considerable amounts of caffeine keeps the crew and especially the pilot alert. Consuming food
and water regularly ensures an energetic body not vulnerable to fatigue that results from a

PHYSICAL AND EMOTIONAL FACTORS 4
dehydrated or a body with low blood sugar level (Perry, 2018). Chia seeds, melon, milk,
oatmeal, beans, nuts, crimini mushrooms, sweet potatoes, eggs, and black, green or oolong tea
are among the foods that make one alert, reduce muscle fatigue and give the power needed to
trigger successful day to day exercises (American Media, 2018).
4.1.2 Effects of dehydration
Dehydration in aviation is not only caused by lack of water in the body but also results
from high body temperature, excess caffeine antihistamines, aircraft environment (hot cockpits
and flight lines), taking inappropriate fluids. The humidity in the cockpit is normally low and
flying for long durations of time in hot summers in high attitudes lead to fluid loss from the body
(Federal Aviation Administration, 2016). During dehydration the muscle contraction frequency
decreases and if that continues for long, there is an overall drop in body performance. The brain
being 75 % water is adversely affected by dehydration and if not taken of symptoms of fatigue
and headaches show up ("the effects of dehydration on pilot performance", 2018).
According to Prentice (2010) fatigue is the number one effect of dehydration. Fatigue
from dehydration affects significant mental and physical performance. Dehydration increases the
cardiovascular strain resulting form hypothermia and low blood volumes. The muscle
metabolism and neurological functions are also affected by dehydration. In dehydration also
there is reduced stroke volume and blood flow within the muscles is also affected. Under these
resulting conditions, oxygen delivery becomes low (Maughan, Burke & Coyle, 2004)
4.2 Emotional Fatigue
As noted earlier, emotional fatigue regards the inability to engage in light and complex or
activities and is more of a subjective feeling that persist most in prolonged mental activity that
results in reduced capacity to engage in more work (Rainford & Gradwell, 2016). Mental
boredom associated with long duration flights, personal anxiety, stress or depression, all affect
mental activities. Me]Aviation personnel with emotional fatigue shows symptoms like tiredness
and sleepiness, poor decision making, carelessness, poor judgement, reduced ability to perceive
errors, moodiness. Emotional fatigue or rather mental fatigue is itself a threat to the role of
operators and controllers as it comes with slow decision making. Pilots need to have a sharp
decision making response in case of anything and that requires emotional soberness. Getting

PHYSICAL AND EMOTIONAL FACTORS 5
behind tasks, failure to visualize the whole picture and tunnelled attention leads to frequent error
and danger and impaired error detection (Rainford & Gradwell, 2016).
4.3 Physical Fatigue
This is more of a temporary deprivation of strength and the vigour that results from
engaging in physical exercise and preservation of a fixed posture. The condition comes with
exhausted and hurting muscles, general physical exhaustion and the unavoidable pressure to lie
down or sit (Rainford & Gradwell, 2016). Like emotional fatigue, physical fatigue is a risk to
one’s alertness. When there is a rotation work and rest schedule comes with inadequate sleep and
the mind of the pilot during layover will still be telling him or her to remain awake. Physical
fatigue results from extended duty time characterized with long periods of wakefulness that
consequently impacts the sleep pressure. The earlier noted dehydration and poor nutrition fall in
this category and are as harmful as identified. Sometimes the pilots and the whole may be under
intentional sleep restriction and that affects their concentration spans
These identified physical, health and emotional factors are without doubt strong
contributors towards the harmful threats of fatigue and they are hurdles towards the attainment of
a convenient and safe environment to work on.

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References
American Media. (2018). 10 Foods That Fight Fatigue. Retrieved 26th Sep. 2018 from
https://www.mensjournal.com/food-drink/10-foods-that-fight-fatigue/
Cosgrove, B. (2013). Microlight pilot's handbook (8th ed.). Ramsbury: Airlife/Crowood.
Federal Aviation Administration. (2016). Aviation Instructor's Handbook: FAA-H-8083-9A.
New York: Ravenio Books,.
Figley, C. R. (2013). Compassion fatigue: Coping with secondary traumatic stress disorder in
those who treat the traumatized. Routledge
Maughan, R., Burke, L., & Coyle, E. (2004). Food, nutrition and sports performance II. London:
Routledge.
Perry, M. (2018). Pilot Fatigue - AviationKnowledge. Retrieved 26th Sep. 2018 from
http://aviationknowledge.wikidot.com/aviation:pilot-fatigue
Prentice, R. (2010). Aviation weather services handbook. New York, NY: Skyhorse Pub.
Rainford, D., & Gradwell, D. (2016). Ernsting's aviation and space medicine (5th ed.). CRC
Press.
The effects of dehydration on pilot performance. (2018). Retrieved 26th Sep. 2018 from
http://www.pilotfriend.com/training/flight_training/human/dehyd.htm
van Drongelen, A., Boot, C. R., Hlobil, H., Twisk, J. W., Smid, T., & van der Beek, A. J. (2014).
Evaluation of an mHealth intervention aiming to improve health-related behavior and
sleep and reduce fatigue among airline pilots. Scandinavian journal of work, environment
& health, 557-568.