He also stated that a "normal" amount of sleep is 8 to 8 ¼ hours and that maintaining performance on a minimum of five hours of sleep is a myth. Sleep-deprived animals die from insulin resistance, immune system failure and sepsis after two to three weeks without sleep. If we can't measure it, we miss it."Īlthough Davenport specializes in aviation mishaps, with particular emphasis on the special physiological and human factor hazards unique to aviation, he is particularly interested in sleep deprivation and fatigue as a pervasive and widely under-recognized root cause of mishaps.Īccording to Davenport, sleep is a physiological requirement for survival. "There are no simple measurement tools for fatigue. "Fatigue is under-recognized as a mishap causal factor," Davenport said. Those declines affect our mood and motivation, high-level cognition, decision-making, multitasking, situational awareness, basic reaction times and vigilance. "It was my first job and I loved it."Ī key point made by Davenport in the Reid Conference Center was that fatigue produces broad declines in multiple measures of performance.
"I worked on the Lunar Flying Vehicle and the Skylab," he said. From 1967 until 1970, he worked as an aerospace engineer at Johnson Space Center. That's why Davenport visited NASA Langley for the "Strategies for Your Future" symposium. The Rogers Commission Human Factors Findings stated, "The willingness of NASA employees in general to work excessive hours, while admirable, raises serious questions when it jeopardizes job performance, particularly when critical management decisions are at stake."Īccording to Davenport, one way to control fatigue is through individual education and awareness. Navy as the commandįlight surgeon to the Naval Safety Center in Norfolk. Nick Davenport serves on active duty in the U.S. This conclusion was only included in the committee's final report, which only noted that top managers in such situations are generally the ones who sacrifice the most sleep."Ĭapt. Nick Davenport, who quoted from, "The Promise of Sleep" by William Dement: "… But not well known at all is the fact that the Human Factors Subcommittee attributed the error to the severe sleep deprivation of the NASA managers. The Rogers Commission, appointed by United States President Ronald Reagan to investigate the Challenger accident, determined that cultural and mechanical processes were contributing factors.Ī seemingly missed possibility was pointed out to a NASA Langley crowd recently by Navy Capt. Media coverage of the accident was extensive: One study reported that 85 percent of Americans surveyed had heard the news within an hour. Sadness and shock soon followed when the shuttle disintegrated over the Atlantic Ocean. It was January 28, 1986, and many Americans were glued to the television to witness the Space Shuttle Challenger take off.
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