INTERACTIVE EFFECTS OF SLEEP-DEPRIVATION, TIME OF DAY, AND DRIVING EXPERIENCE ON A DRIVING TASK

Performance decrements after more than 24 hours of sleep deprivation ( SD) are not only a monotonic function of the duration of SD, but are t he result of an interaction between SD and time of day. The major dete riorations in performance during SD are still evident throughout the n ight, as in the non-sleep-deprived state. Twelve experienced and 12 in experienced drivers drove a driving simulator for 20 minutes at 0800, 1100, 1400, 1700, and 2000 hours on two testing days. One testing day was conducted after a normal night's sleep, and the other after one ni ght of SD. Reaction time (Ri) was also measured while driving. The sta ndard deviation of both lateral position and speed were significantly higher during SD. Performance steadily improved across the day between 0800 and 2000 hours, and the absence of any sleep-by-time interaction s suggests that the rhythm of driving performance across the day was s imilar after both normal sleep and SD, Inexperienced drivers had highe r RTs than experienced drivers in both sleep-deprived and non-sleep-de prived conditions. These results have important implications for those involved in the transport industry.