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- Mixter, Susanna, Doktorand, 1983-, et al.
(författare)
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Effects of combining occupationally relevant physical and cognitive tasks. A systematic review
- 2023
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Ingår i: Annals of Work Exposures and Health. - : Oxford Academic. - 2398-7308 .- 2398-7316. ; 67:3, s. 303-319
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- ObjectivesPhysical and cognitive tasks occur together in many occupations. Previous reviews of combined tasks have mainly focused on their effects in a sports context. This review investigated to which extent combinations (concurrent or alternating) of occupationally relevant physical and cognitive tasks influence responses reflecting biomechanical exposure, stress, fatigue, performance, and well-being.MethodsWe searched Scopus, Pubmed, Cinahl, and Psychinfo for controlled experiments investigating the effects of combinations of occupationally relevant physical and cognitive tasks in participants aged 18 to 70. In total, we identified 12 447 records. We added recent papers that had cited these studies (n = 573) to arrive at a total of 13 020 publications. After screening for relevance, 61 studies remained, of which 57 were classified to be of medium or high quality. Of the 57 studies, 51 addressed concurrent tasks, 5 alternating tasks, and 1 both concurrent and alternating tasks.ResultsMost studies of concurrent physical and cognitive tasks reported negative effects, if numerically small, on indicators of biomechanical exposure, fatigue, and performance, compared to a physical task alone. Results were mixed for stress indicators, and well-being was too little studied to justify any conclusions. Effects depended on the tasks, including their intensity and complexity. Alternating physical and cognitive tasks did not appear to influence outcomes much, compared to having passive breaks in-between physical tasks.ConclusionsThe reviewed evidence indicated that concurrent physical and cognitive work tasks have negative, yet small effects on biomechanical indicators, fatigue and performance, compared to performing the physical task alone, but only if the physical task is intense, and the cognitive task is complex. Alternating between physical and cognitive tasks may have similar effects as breaking up physical tasks by passive breaks, but studies were few. Future studies should address ecologically valid combinations of physical and cognitive tasks, in particular in controlled field studies devoted to the long-term effects of combined work.
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| 2. |
- Mixter, Susanna, Doktorand, 1983-, et al.
(författare)
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Fatigue, Stress, and Performance during Alternating Physical and Cognitive Tasks - Effects of the Temporal Pattern of Alternations
- 2021
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Ingår i: Annals of Work Exposures and Health. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 2398-7308 .- 2398-7316. ; 65:9, s. 1107-1122
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In occupational life, performing cognitive work tasks in between fatiguing physical work tasks may allow recovery and reduce stress without losing productive working time. The temporal pattern of such alternations is likely a determinant of the recovery effect, influencing both stress and fatigue; the difficulty of the cognitive task (CT) would also be a likely determinant. The aim of this study was to determine to what extent the temporal pattern of alternations between a repetitive physical task and a CT of different difficulties influenced perceived fatigability, performance fatigability, stress-related outcomes, and performance. Fifteen women performed four work sessions comprising 110 min of repeated bouts of a repetitive physical task (pipetting), alternating with a CT (n-back). Sessions differed in bout cycle time (short: 7 + 3 min versus long: 14 + 6 min) and CT difficulty (CTdiff; easy versus difficult). Fatigue was assessed from recordings of maximal voluntary contraction force in shoulder elevations and handgrip pre- and post-work, electromyography (EMG) from the right trapezius and right forearm extensors during work, and repeated self-ratings of fatigue and pain throughout the session. Stress was assessed using electrocardiography (heart rate variability), salivary alpha-amylase, and self-reports. Perceived fatigue increased significantly over time for all protocols and more in long-cycle than short-cycle conditions. EMG activity did not increase markedly over time in any condition. Neither objective nor subjective indicators suggested that stress increased over time, regardless of the temporal pattern. Pipetting performance remained stable in all conditions. Cognitive performance, measured by the proportions of correct positive and false positive answers, differed between CTdiff levels but remained stable over time, with no significant difference between temporal patterns. In summary, temporal patterns of alternating tasks influenced fatigue to some extent but had no obvious influence on stress indicators or performance. Thus, designing job rotation with alternating physical and cognitive work should consider the temporal patterns of alternations to minimize fatigue.
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| 3. |
- Mixter, Susanna, Doktorand, 1983-, et al.
(författare)
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Stress-Related Responses to Alternations between Repetitive Physical Work and Cognitive Tasks of Different Difficulties
- 2020
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Ingår i: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. - : MDPI AG. - 1661-7827 .- 1660-4601. ; 17:22
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Alternating between physical and cognitive tasks has been proposed as an alternative in job rotation, allowing workers to recover from the physical work while still being productive. However, effects of such alternations on stress have not been investigated. This controlled experiment aimed at determining the extent to which stress-related responses develop during alternating physical and cognitive work, and to determine the extent to which cognitive task (CT) difficulty influences these responses. Fifteen women performed three sessions of 10 consecutive work bouts each including a seven-minute repetitive physical task (pipetting) and a three-minute CT (n-back) at one of three difficulty levels. Stress was assessed in terms of changes in heart rate variability, blood pressure, salivary alpha-amylase, salivary cortisol, perceived stress, and cognitive performance. The work session did not result in any marked stress response, and CT difficulty did not significantly influence stress, apart from alpha-amylase being higher at the easiest CT (F = 5.34, p = 0.02). Thus, according to our results, alternating between repetitive physical tasks and cognitive tasks may be a feasible alternative to classic job rotation between physical tasks only, even if the cognitive task is quite difficult. Future studies should address possible effects of the temporal pattern of alternations, and combine even other occupationally relevant tasks, preferably for extended periods of time.
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| 4. |
- Rosa, Eduardo, et al.
(författare)
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Cognitive performance, fatigue, emotional, and physiological strains in simulated long-duration flight missions
- 2022
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Ingår i: Military Psychology. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0899-5605 .- 1532-7876. ; 34:2, s. 224-236
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Pilots in long-duration flight missions in single-seat aircraft may be affected by fatigue. This study determined associations between cognitive performance, emotions and physiological activation and deactivation–measured by heart rate variability (HRV)–in a simulated 11-h flight mission in the 39 Gripen aircraft. Twelve participants volunteered for the study. Perceived fatigue was measured by the Samn-Perelli Fatigue Index (SPFI). Cognitive performance was measured by non-executive and executive tasks. Emotions were assessed by the Circumplex Affect Space instrument. HRV was considered in relation to the cognitive tasks in four time points–Hours 3, 5, 7, 9–and their associations with emotional ratings. Results indicated a decrease in performance in the non-executive task after approximately 7 h. This result was correlated with self-reported measures of fatigue. HRV, assessed by indices of parasympathetic modulation, remained unchanged for both non-executive and executive tasks over time (p >.05 for all). Significant correlations were observed between emotions and HRV; with increased boredom, increased passiveness, decreased stimulation, and decreased activeness, HRV indicators increased (p <.05). This suggests that a low self-regulatory effort for maintaining performance in these conditions was prevalent and that pilots could adapt to some degree to the demands and fatigue of long-duration missions.
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