(Press-News.org) Research has shown that drinking caffeinated beverages and listening to music are two popular fatigue-fighting measures that drivers take, but very few studies have tested the usefulness of those measures. New research to be presented at the HFES 2014 Annual Meeting in Chicago evaluates which method, if either, can successfully combat driver fatigue.
In their paper titled "Comparison of Caffeine and Music as Fatigue Countermeasures in Simulated Driving Tasks," human factors/ergonomics researchers ShiXu Liu, Shengji Yao, and Allan Spence designed a simulated driving study that measured driver fatigue levels against the use of caffeine, music, or no stimulant. Twenty participants completed three 120-minute driving sessions over a three-day span at the same time each day, then scored their fatigue levels on a questionnaire.
Results indicated that drivers who used either caffeine or music as a stimulant felt significantly less tired than those who did not. The researchers noted, however, that those who drank a caffeinated beverage to stay awake performed their driving tasks much better than those who listened to music or those in the control group.
"Even though both caffeine and music keep drivers feeling more awake, caffeine also helps them maintain good driving performance," said Liu, a graduate student in McMaster University's Department of Mechanical Engineering. "Music, on the other hand, can distract drivers, which may explain why driving performance is not significantly improved when it is used as a fatigue countermeasure."
INFORMATION:
To receive a copy of the article for media reporting purposes, contact HFES Communications Associate Cara Quinlan (310/394-1811; cara@hfes.org) or Communications Director Lois Smith (310/394-1811; lois@hfes.org).
The Human Factors and Ergonomics Society is the world's largest scientific association for human factors/ergonomics professionals, with more than 4,800 members globally. HFES members include psychologists and other scientists, designers, and engineers, all of whom have a common interest in designing systems and equipment to be safe and effective for the people who operate and maintain them. "Human Factors and Ergonomics: People-Friendly Design Through Science and Engineering"
Plan to attend the HFES 2014 International Annual Meeting, October 27-31, Hyatt Regency Chicago.
Feeling fatigued while driving? Don't reach for your iPod
2014-09-29
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
New way to detox? 'Gold of Pleasure' oilseed boosts liver detoxification enzymes
2014-09-29
URBANA, Ill. – University of Illinois scientists have found compounds that boost liver detoxification enzymes nearly fivefold, and they've found them in a pretty unlikely place—the crushed seeds left after oil extraction from an oilseed crop used in jet fuel.
"The bioactive compounds in Camelina sativa seed, also known as Gold of Pleasure, are a mixture of phytochemicals that work together synergistically far better than they do alone. The seed meal is a promising nutritional supplement because its bioactive ingredients increase the liver's ability to clear foreign chemicals ...
University of Alberta researchers explain 38-year-old mystery of the heart
2014-09-29
In a new study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, researchers at the University of Alberta's Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry have explained how the function of a key protein in the heart changes in heart failure.
Heart disease is the number-one killer in the developed world. The end stage of heart disease is heart failure, in which the heart cannot pump enough blood to satisfy the body's needs. Patients become progressively short of breath as the condition worsens, and they also begin to accumulate fluid in the legs and lungs, making it ...
Good working relationships between clients, bankers can reduce defaults
2014-09-29
You've probably seen advertising campaigns in which banks describe how much their customer relationships matter to them. While such messaging might have been cooked up at an ad agency, it turns out there is some truth underlying these slogans.
As a newly published study co-authored by an MIT professor shows, strong working relationships between bankers and clients reduce the likelihood of loan delinquencies and defaults, at least in the context of an emerging economy.
Using propriety data from a large bank in Chile, the study finds that when loan officers go on leave, ...
Causes of California drought linked to climate change
2014-09-29
The atmospheric conditions associated with the unprecedented drought currently afflicting California are "very likely" linked to human-caused climate change, Stanford scientists say.
In a new study, a team led by Stanford climate scientist Noah Diffenbaugh used a novel combination of computer simulations and statistical techniques to show that a persistent region of high atmospheric pressure hovering over the Pacific Ocean that diverted storms away from California was much more likely to form in the presence of modern greenhouse gas concentrations.
The research, published ...
Decision to reintroduce aprotinin in cardiac surgery may put patients at risk
2014-09-29
Cardiac surgery patients may be at risk because of the decision by Health Canada and the European Medicines Agency to reintroduce the use of aprotinin after its withdrawal from the worldwide market in 2007, assert the authors of a previous major trial that found a substantially increased risk of death associated with the drug. In an analysis in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal), the authors refute three major criticisms of the trial made by the regulatory bodies.
Aprotinin, used to control bleeding in cardiac surgery, was withdrawn worldwide in 2007 after the ...
Revolutionary hamstring tester will keep more players on the field
2014-09-29
Elite sporting stars can assess and reduce their risk of a hamstring injury thanks to a breakthrough made by QUT researchers.
The discovery could be worth a fortune to football codes, with hamstring strain injuries accounting for most non-contact injuries in Australian rules football, football and rugby union, as well as track events like sprinting.
Using an innovative field device, a research team led by Dr Anthony Shield, from QUT's School - Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, and former QUT PhD student, Dr David Opar, now at the Australian Catholic University, measured ...
Drug for kidney injury after cardiac surgery does not reduce need for dialysis
2014-09-29
Among patients with acute kidney injury after cardiac surgery, infusion with the antihypertensive agent fenoldopam, compared with placebo, did not reduce the need for renal replacement therapy (dialysis) or risk of death at 30 days, but was associated with an increased rate of abnormally low blood pressure, according to a study published in JAMA. The study is being posted early online to coincide with its presentation at the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine annual congress.
More than 1 million patients undergo cardiac surgery every year in the United States ...
Climate detectives reveal handprint of human caused climate change in Australia
2014-09-29
Australia's hottest year on record in 2013 along with the accompanying droughts, heat waves and record-breaking seasons of that year was virtually impossible without the influence of human-caused global warming.
New research from ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate System Science (ARCCSS) researchers and colleagues, over five different Australian papers in a special edition of the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society (BAMS), has highlighted the powerful influence of global warming on Australia's climate.
"We often talk about the fingerprint of human-caused ...
Rising prevalence of sleep apnea in US threatens public health
2014-09-29
DARIEN, IL – Public health and safety are threatened by the increasing prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea, which now afflicts at least 25 million adults in the U.S., according to the National Healthy Sleep Awareness Project. Several new studies highlight the destructive nature of obstructive sleep apnea, a chronic disease that increases the risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, stroke and depression.
"Obstructive sleep apnea is destroying the health of millions of Americans, and the problem has only gotten worse over the last two decades," said ...
Targeted combination therapy halts disease, extends life in advanced melanoma patients
2014-09-29
A world-first study in today's New England Journal of Medicine heralds the efficacy of a targeted combination drug therapy after reporting major declines in the risk of disease progression and death in people with metastatic melanoma.
The multi-centre, double-blind, randomised, phase 3 trial compared oral dabrafenib (150 mg twice daily) and oral trametinib (2 mg once daily) combination therapy with oral dabrafenib (150 mg twice daily) and placebo.
All trial patients had inoperable stage 3C or 4 metastatic melanoma that had a BRAF gene mutation V600E or V600K. Among ...