Crew Endurance - Live Better, Perform Your Best
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[INAUDIBLE]
Hey, we're off course.
Oh, god.
Jesus.
[INAUDIBLE] to port side.
The two incidents
we have just seen
could have been prevented
if these mariners understood
how the environmental
and individual risk
factors that occur on their
vessel can be managed.
Mariners have many things
in common-- long work hours,
strenuous working conditions,
extreme temperatures,
frequent separation from loved
ones, fatigue, and long service
periods.
This program is
a resource on how
to control endurance risk
factors such as stress,
fatigue, sleep
deprivation, and problems
resulting from working
and living on the water.
Understanding the risk
factors will hopefully
help you prevent these
situations from happening.
Crew endurance refers to
a crew member's ability
to maintain performance
within safety limits
while enduring job-related
physical, psychological,
and environmental challenges.
Crew endurance is more
than just fatigue.
It also refers to your ability
to perform tasks safely.
Some of the risk factors
which affect crew endurance
include quality and
duration of sleep,
stability of the
person's body clock,
environmental stressors such as
heat, cold, noise, and vessel
motion, the internal
state of the person,
such as their current emotional
state and stress level, diet,
and physical conditioning.
Crew endurance is
important so that we
can lower the risk of
accidents due to human error.
And this program is designed
to address those issues.
Address the environmental
risk and address
the individual risk,
and to put it together
in a program where
we can lessen that.
And we can have actually have a
better performance and a better
quality of life at sea.
There are three
critical components
that help determine endurance.
And these three components
are interrelated.
The first is fatigue,
which is the decreased
capacity or complete inability
to function normally.
More simply, it's being so
tired that you cannot perform
at a normal level.
Fatigue is one of those
underlying problems
and also a foundation for many
of the accidents that occur.
People who are fatigued are
much like people who are drunk.
And they have a
lessened ability to use
their cognitive skills and
their decision-making process.
The second component that
influences endurance is sleep.
Sleep is important in
both reducing fatigue
and in improving
your energy level.
Sleep helps to
restore energy levels.
Without sufficient sleep, you
cannot maintain your endurance,
and your performance
may decrease.
Fatigue occurs primarily
due to sleep debt.
And sleep debt is a product of
a mismanagement of our sleeping
routines.
Either we're not getting enough,
or our time off is interrupted,
or the quality of
our sleeping period
is not acceptable to
get the rest we need
to restore our energy level.
The human brain requires
approximately 7 to 8 hours
of uninterrupted sleep each
day to replenish our energy.
Sleep can be disrupted by noise,
bright lights, or movement.
When this happens, our
brain spends less time
in deep sleep, which is when
most of the energy restoration
for our body occurs.
Getting less than 7 to
8 hours of sleep per day
will result in a sleep debt.
As your sleep debt increases,
you will become less alert,
make poor decisions, and
increase the possibility
of causing an accident.
Finally, let's look at energy,
which we need to perform work.
Energy is needed by every
cell in the human body
in order to function properly.
In our bodies, energy is
packaged as a molecule called
adenosine triphosphate, or ATP.
ATP is found in every
cell of the body.
Here are some things that
each and every one of us
can do each day to keep
our energy levels high.
Obtain sufficient sleep.
Exercise daily.
Eat a balanced diet.
Manage stress.
Sleep is regulated by our
biological or body clock.
This internal clock
tells us when to sleep
and when to wake up.
Our bodies naturally want
to sleep during the night
and be awake during the day.
Our body clock regulates our
energy cycles so that alertness
increases after wake up time,
peaks in the mid-morning hours,
dips in the afternoon
hours, the post-lunch dip,
peaks again in the
early evening hours,
begins to decrease at night,
reaches its greatest lows
in the middle of the night
and the early morning hours,
approximately midnight to 0600.
The exact times of
these peaks and valleys
depend on things specific
to your body clock,
such as when you wake up, go to
bed, and the amount of daylight
you are exposed to.
The amount of time you are
exposed to bright light
sets your body clock and is a
key factor of your body clock
stability or instability.
Your body clock makes
you alert in the daytime,
sleepy at night, and
hungry before eating.
It controls your growth and
many basic body functions.
Energy and performance
levels vary
depending on the time of day.
The period when levels
are at their lowest
is called the red zone.
When we work in the
red zone, we are really
pushing human risk
factors because we
have less physical energy,
less mental energy, less
available energy to
cope with the situation.
Temperature-related
illnesses and motion sickness
dramatically reduce
energy levels
and induce excess fatigue.
Uncontrolled noise, vibration,
and ambient temperature
prevent crew members from
getting sufficient quality
sleep, potentially
expanding the red zone.
These are examples of some
of the environmental factors
that impact crew endurance.
Crew members trying to stay
warm may find themselves
with a decreased
ability to focus.
The loss of energy from
trying to get warm causes
fatigue and further
reduces crew endurance.
To avoid becoming cold, wear
proper insulation as well as
clothes that dry easily.
As we'll discuss later, what
you eat and how much you sleep
will also make a big difference.
Heat is another special
challenge for mariners.
Heat-related
illnesses don't just
occur in the summer months.
Anyone who works in
hot areas below deck
experiences this
problem year-round.
Extended exposure
to extreme heat
drains you of valuable
energy and places you
at risk for
heat-related illnesses.
Your body needs fluids in
order to function properly.
Constant sweating leads to loss
of fluids and minerals needed
to maintain body
functions and ultimately,
leads to dehydration.
In warm temperatures,
your body needs more water
so that it can continue
to sweat and regulate
your body temperature.
To avoid becoming
dehydrated, drink water
before becoming thirsty.
Consume at least 1/2 liter
before going on watch,
and then continue to drink
throughout the watch.
Try to avoid drinks
that cause even more
dehydration, such as
drinks containing caffeine
like coffee or tea.
Rough seas and certain smells
can induce motion sickness.
Motion sickness usually
occurs because what you see
does not match up
with what you feel.
With motion sickness,
you may become sleepy,
feel like vomiting, or not
be able to sleep or eat.
As your body struggles
to compensate,
you become more tired.
Eating the wrong foods
at the wrong times
and in the wrong
amounts can also
cause you to feel ill at sea.
Meals that are high
in sugar and fat
can almost instantly
induce motion sickness.
The nausea and vomiting
caused by motion sickness
can lead to lower energy
levels, dehydration,
and a loss of appetite.
Losing your appetite might
also have a negative effect
on your body clock.
Being dehydrated due
to motion sickness also
makes you more susceptible
to heat-related illnesses.
The environmental conditions
outside of your vessel cannot
be controlled.
Conditions on the inside of
your vessel, however, can be.
Being exposed to noise,
vibration, and uncomfortable
temperatures can drain
you of valuable energy
and reduce your endurance.
Constant noise
can prevent sleep,
while the occasional loud noise
might wake you and disrupt
your sleep cycle.
Noise can also be
disrupting when
trying to concentrate on a
task, increasing safety risks.
Engines, generators,
heavy machines,
and even extreme wind and waves
create vibrations on vessels.
Some crew members may
not notice the vibration,
while others become
increasingly fatigued by it.
Being too cold or too
hot is uncomfortable.
It also requires your body
to work hard maintaining
the right temperature.
Fortunately, temperature can be
regulated inside most vessels.
Insulation of all hatches,
portholes, and port lights
prevents drafts and helps
keep your vessel cooler
in the summer and
warmer in the winter.
Controlling the temperature with
thermostats or personal fans
will help maintain
personal comfort levels.
Our body is naturally
oriented towards working
during daylight hours.
However, Maritime operations
often require working at night.
To shift from daylight to
night time working hours,
light management
techniques can be
used to reset your body clock.
Light management is the
process of using light
to keep the body awake and
alert during watch hours
and avoiding light sources to
help our bodies fall asleep
faster.
Direct or indirect exposure
to artificial light
of at least 1,000 lux can
shift the red zone out
of the watch period.
When night vision needs to
be maintained, especially
for those crew members
working on the bridge,
less intense doses of
light may be necessary.
Studies have shown monochromatic
green light affects the body
clock in similar ways to
bright white light or sunlight,
but at lower intensities
or brightness.
It offers the same
amount of stimulation
to the brain, 15-20 minutes
an hour, as the sunlight
or 1,000 lux of
pure white light.
A wide range of
individual factors
has an impact on crew endurance.
Poor diet, improper use of
medications, stress, and lack
of exercise all affect
how you perform.
[ALARM CLOCK]
Drugs have an impact
on crew endurance.
Some medications and
caffeine can temporarily
improve your comfort
and alertness.
However, these same substances
can disrupt your sleep,
make you tired, and
decrease your performance.
Alcohol is a drug that
when used improperly,
places the crew as well
as the vessel at risk.
Alcohol impairs judgment,
slows reaction times,
interferes with balance,
and dulls reflexes.
Caffeine, a chemical found in
coffee, tea, some soft drinks,
and chocolate, can
help in the short-term
as small doses briefly
boost energy levels.
A cup of coffee at the
beginning of a watch
can help to restore alertness.
Within 15 minutes of
consuming caffeine,
crew members start to feel
an increase in their ability
to concentrate and focus.
This level of
increased alertness
may last for a few hours.
It is important to
remember, however,
that caffeine is a stimulant
that can prevent you
from sleeping if taken
in the wrong amounts
or at the wrong times.
A cup of coffee within
a few hours of bedtime
can prevent you from getting
sufficient rest when off watch.
Over-the-counter medications
can have a profound effect
on the crew members.
It's something that's
often overlooked.
Over-the-counter
medications can be helpful
if you are ill, injured, have
motion sickness, or insomnia.
However, if you use these
medications incorrectly,
then you may unknowingly
decrease your performance
and become a safety
risk to the vessel.
Drugs for stuffy nose,
sinus trouble, congestion,
and the common cold make
up the largest segment
of over-the-counter drugs.
When used correctly,
they provide relief
for at least some of the
discomfort that you feel.
Some cold medications
contain decongestants.
Decongestants are
like adrenaline,
which is a type of stimulant.
If you take a decongestant
for your cold,
you may feel jittery,
nervous, and have
difficulty going to sleep.
If you have allergies,
such as hay fever,
you may use an anti-histamine.
An anti-histamine is a sedative.
It can leave you drowsy,
unable to concentrate,
and with slower reflexes.
When starting on a
new watch schedule,
you may have difficulty
adjusting to a new sleep
pattern.
You may try to use sleeping
pills to help get to sleep.
However, sleeping pills
disrupt the sleep cycle
for the nights following
the first dosage, creating
more fatigue.
This can lead to
addiction as more pills
are taken in order to sleep.
And sleep aids are really
out because they're
addictive, number one.
And number two,
they may give you
too much lethargy in the
amount of sleep that you need.
And they may actually interfere
with a proper amount of sleep.
Crew members may use
common pain medications
for headaches, muscle
pains, or other injuries.
However, while pain medications
make you feel better,
they can lead to
increased risks of injury.
These medications
mask actual pain.
A crew member may
push himself too much
and further hurt
an existing injury.
Some pain medications
may also cause
drowsiness, decreased
alertness, and an inability
to concentrate.
The last type of
over-the-counter medications
are designed to counter the
effects of motion sickness.
While these pills can reduce the
feelings of nausea associated
with motion sickness,
the medication
itself can also
decrease performance
by making people drowsy
and unable to focus.
Food serves as the fuel
for the human body.
Without enough nutrition or
the proper types of nutrition,
you may not be able to
produce enough energy
to maintain your endurance.
Diet also helps
improve your ability
to cope with individual as well
as environmental stressors.
Certain foods act
as a stimulant,
providing you with additional
energy throughout your watch.
However, eating the wrong type
of foods before going off watch
could keep you awake when
you should be sleeping.
Large meals may make
you feel drowsy,
but do not lead
to quality sleep.
Heavy meals after we get off
work and before we go to sleep
are now known to
be harmful to us.
Most people expect
breakfast when they wake up
and dinner at the
end of the day.
Providing crew members with
foods that match their watch
schedules instead of
the actual time of day
may help adapt their body
clocks to their schedules
more quickly.
A proper diet ensures that crew
members have sufficient fuel
before going on watch.
Eating meals full of
high energy foods helps.
Foods that are high
in fat and sugar
can keep a crew member awake
when they need to be awake.
To maintain body heat
in cold conditions,
you need to consume
a proper diet.
To stay hydrated and to have
enough energy in warm weather,
you still need food but
require even more water.
The most important
thing that we can do
is to manage our
sleep environment,
to get the right amount and
get a quality amount of sleep.
So what can you
do if you are not
getting the necessary 7 to
8 hours of sleep your body
needs each day?
One way you can help reduce
your sleep debt is taking a nap.
If you can't get the
full cycle of sleep,
then you have to consider taking
the time during your other time
off, other than your long sleep
cycle, to get a proper nap.
Napping has been
shown to be very
restoring to people's physical
and mental energy levels.
A nap may also be helpful
when changing from day
to night shift or when you have
several rapid shift rotations.
Naps longer than 1 to 2
hours are not recommended.
Another concern for
mariners is jet lag.
Jet lag is a shift
in our body clock
where we cross
numerous time zones
in a short period of time.
The symptoms of jet lag
include fatigue, sleepiness,
and poor memory.
This can be extremely
difficult, especially
if you are flying to
start a new assignment
and need to report for
duty as soon as you arrive.
You can reduce jet lag by taking
some of the following steps.
Try to reset your body clock
as much as possible before you
leave, and reset your
watch to the new time zone.
Avoid alcohol, and drink liquids
like tomato juice, club soda,
or orange juice before
and during your flight.
Don't go to sleep
immediately after you arrive.
Take a walk, take a short
nap, and try to stay awake
to help reset your body clock.
Stress can be an
accumulative factor.
And small items can add up,
both personal and professional.
And then we all have a tolerance
point, and at a certain level,
especially if we
undermine our ability
to cope with stress
on the job with items
like fatigue and poor diet, we
can become considerably less
effective.
Watch schedules directly
affect crew endurance.
If you are not able
to get enough sleep
or eat a proper diet, then you
can lose energy and quickly
become fatigued.
Similarly, the emotional
stress related to a job
can lead to sleeplessness, which
then produces fatigue and makes
you less alert
during watch hours.
Captains and Mates all have
different leadership styles,
some more demanding than others.
When you work under a strict
or dictatorial leader,
you tend to
experience more stress
than if you worked in a
more democratic environment.
The fear factor from working
under a demanding boss
can result in lack of sleep,
undue emotional stress,
and a reduction in the
ability to concentrate.
Stress arising from
family life is just as
distracting and likely to cause
fatigue as work-related stress.
If you're unable to be in
contact with your family
or if you have problems at home
like financial difficulties,
divorce, or a death
in the family,
you may feel your
endurance being drained.
If you are in a position of
authority on your vessel,
you have additional
stresses placed on you.
To reduce the stresses of being
a leader on board your vessel,
make sure that you
prioritize your activities
and maintain ownership
of your time.
Make sure that you communicate.
Let co-workers know if
something they're doing
is causing you stress.
Address things calmly
and professionally.
Use peers and associates as a
sounding board for discussing
work-related issues.
Finally, take control
by finding ways
to unwind, such as exercising
or finding a quiet place
to read or relax.
One of the best things
you can do for your body
is to exercise regularly.
There are a large number of
health benefits associated
with exercise, including helping
cope with or prevent diseases
such as the cold and the
flu, diabetes, and cancer.
Reducing physical problems
such as osteoarthritis,
back problems, gastrointestinal
problems, and leg cramps.
Weight loss.
And increasing overall
health and longevity.
Some of the different
ways you can get exercise
include walking or cycling
regularly, resistance
training, flexibility and
range of motion exercises,
aerobic exercises, strengthening
or resistance exercises,
swimming or exercising in water.
Exercise is also a powerful
anti-stress medicine.
Results that can be derived
from physical activity
are you become less anxious.
Studies have found that
exercise significantly
reduces electrical
activity in tense muscles
as soon as your workout ends.
That makes you less jittery
and less hyperactive.
Your mood improves, and
you are able to relax.
This is caused by increasing
the release of endorphins for 90
to 120 minutes after a workout.
Studies show that
when you exercise,
you take better
care of yourself,
and you eat healthier.
When you exercise, you improve
your self-image and boost
self-esteem.
Now that we know about crew
endurance, let's go back
and review how crew members can
improve their crew endurance.
Being well rested is essential
for proper crew endurance.
Try and get 7 to 8 hours
of sleep every night.
Be cautious when taking
over-the-counter medication.
Many medications can
cause drowsiness,
take the time to learn the side
effects of the medication you
are taking.
Try to avoid drinking too
much coffee while working.
In small amounts, it may help
pick you up for the moment.
But eventually, it will affect
your concentration and cause
drowsiness.
Having motion sickness is
a severe problem at sea.
Be careful about
what foods you eat
and stay hydrated by drinking
lots of fluids, especially
water.
Finally, when working in
a warm area of the ship,
you are at risk for dehydration.
So make sure you stay hydrated.
Crew endurance starts with every
crew member on your vessel.
Every day, you have
many choices to make--
how long you sleep, what to
eat and drink, how to dress,
and how you treat your
fellow crew members.
These choices affect your own
endurance and safety as well as
everyone else on your vessel.