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I can't remember your figures, Andrew, but what % of fatalities were vehicle-related? I imagine that sleep deprivation would be a significant factor in some of those incidents. And with a well-known relationship between sleep-related fatigue and industrial accidents more generally, I don't see why OE would be any exception. Although, on average, I suspect people on OE programs would sleep more than when at home mainly due to lack of electronic power/night-time lighting. Having said that, at least at Outward Bound we intentionally used sleep deprivation as part of the double-edged sword psychological milieu, followed by say solo to help recover. Plus I think OE programs (at least expedition-programs) probably involve more polyphasic sleep (e.g., lunch-time naps).

Andrew Brookes wrote:
[log in to unmask]" type="cite">I think the whole topic of sleep deprivation is interesting, because there are two other areas in which is might be quite significant for OE but tends to be neglected

One is safety. In my research into fatal incidents in most cases the question of whether key decision makers had had sufficient sleep was not asked and therefore not answered.  It is a likely factor in some accidents.

The other is teenager behaviour - sufficient sleep is an important factor, and I think outdoor programs probably cover the spectrum from those which can attribute some of their good results possibly to the fact that participants catch up on sleep and then continue to operate with enough sleep - I am thinking programs that involve retiring to tents much earlier than usual sleeping time - to those programs which send students home with a bigger deficit than they arrived with, due to late nights, disturbed sleep, or early rising.

As I understand it teenagers are prone to sleep deficit because their body clocks tend to develop a lag, so school hours often don't suit them - by the end of the week they are sleep deprived. In the outdoors, a simple test is whether or not program participants and leaders have to be woken to start the day, or whether the program starts when everyone  wakes. If you are being woken by an alarm / leader you will almost certainly be operating on a sleep deficit.

As I said, this strikes me as one of those almost too-simple factors that might help explain outdoor programs (like 3 square meals and limited sugar) that seems under-studied. Or maybe someone has studied this and I missed it.

Andrew


On 15/07/2009, at 7:16 PM, Sam Moore wrote:

As some further 'evidence'.

I have had a couple of Devizes to Westminster (the 125 mile endurance
canoe race) crews report paddling alongside other boats in the dark,
keeping pace with them. When they get to a portage the boats just disappear.

I guess in this case it's the lack of sleep and fatigue that has caused it.

Sam
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Dr. Andrew Brookes  http://www.latrobe.edu.au/oent/Staff/brookes_andrew.htm
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