sleep and heat related changes in the cognitive performance of underground miners a possible health and safety concern睡眠和地下矿工热相关的认知能力的变化可能造成的健康和安全问题.pdf

Minerals 2011, 1, 49-72; doi:10.3390/min1010049 OPEN ACCESS minerals ISSN 2075-163X /journal/minerals/ Review Sleep and Heat Related Changes in the Cognitive Performance of Underground Miners: A Possible Health and Safety Concern Glenn Legault Department of Psychology, Laurentian University, Sudbury, ON P3E 2C6, Canada; E-Mail: glegault@laurentian.ca; Tel.: +1-705-675-1151; Fax: +1-705-675-4889 Received: 1 September 2011 / Accepted: 26 October 2011 / Published: 2 November 2011 Abstract: This review describes some of the literature pertaining to sleep deprivation, shift working, and heat exposure. Consequences of each on human cognitive function, particularly with respect to vigilance and attentional capacity are reviewed. Individually, each of these factors is known to impair human cognition; however, we propose the possibility that for miners working in hot underground environments and who are assigned to rotating shifts, the combination may leave miners with significant degrees of fatigue and decreased ability to focus on tasks. We suggest that such decreased capacity for vigilance is a source of concern in an occupational health and safety context. Keywords: sleep; sleep deprivation; shift work; cognition; fatigue; heat exposure 1. Overview Western societies have relatively recently undertaken a shift from an agrarian-based “wake at dawn-bed at dusk” pattern of activity to a 24 h/7 day per week system where virtually every service desired is available a