Gender influences on performance, mood and recovery sleep in fatigued aviators

Female aviators now are able to serve in combat roles, but few studies have addressed potential differences between the ability of males and females to withstand combat stressors. This study examined responses of men and women to one operational stressor, sleep deprivation. Pilots were tested on flight performance and mood during 40-h periods of sustained wakefulness. Baseline and recovery sleep also were examined. Gender produced no operationally-significant effects of flight performance or recovery sleep. Although mood tests showed that women felt less tense and more energetic than men, there were no interactions between sleep deprivation and gender on either flight performance or psychological mood.