Affiliations 

  • 1 School of Engineering, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia; University of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Electronic address: s3356158@student.rmit.edu.au
  • 2 School of Engineering, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia
  • 3 School of Health and Biomedical Sciences, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia
Appl Ergon, 2017 Apr;60:348-355.
PMID: 28166895 DOI: 10.1016/j.apergo.2016.12.020

Abstract

Although much research has been devoted to the characterization of the effects of whole-body vibration on seated occupants' comfort, drowsiness induced by vibration has received less attention to date. There are also little validated measurement methods available to quantify whole body vibration-induced drowsiness. Here, the effects of vibration on drowsiness were investigated. Twenty male volunteers were recruited for this experiment. Drowsiness was measured in a driving simulator, before and after 30-min exposure to vibration. Gaussian random vibration, with 1-15 Hz frequency bandwidth was used for excitation. During the driving session, volunteers were required to obey the speed limit of 100 kph and maintain a steady position on the left-hand lane. A deviation in lane position, steering angle variability, and speed deviation were recorded and analysed. Alternatively, volunteers rated their subjective drowsiness by Karolinska Sleepiness Scale (KSS) scores every 5-min. Following 30-min of exposure to vibration, a significant increase of lane deviation, steering angle variability, and KSS scores were observed in all volunteers suggesting the adverse effects of vibration on human alertness level.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.