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In‐car countermeasures open window and music revisited on the real road: popular but hardly effective against driver sleepiness
Author(s) -
SCHWARZ JOHANNA F. A.,
INGRE MICHAEL,
FORS CARINA,
ANUND ANNA,
KECKLUND GÖRAN,
TAILLARD JACQUES,
PHILIP PIERRE,
ÅKERSTEDT TORBJÖRN
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
journal of sleep research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.297
H-Index - 117
eISSN - 1365-2869
pISSN - 0962-1105
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2869.2012.01009.x
Subject(s) - active listening , audiology , psychology , duration (music) , window (computing) , countermeasure , medicine , computer science , engineering , communication , acoustics , physics , aerospace engineering , operating system
Summary This study investigated the effects of two very commonly used countermeasures against driver sleepiness, opening the window and listening to music, on subjective and physiological sleepiness measures during real road driving. In total, 24 individuals participated in the study. Sixteen participants received intermittent 10‐min intervals of: (i) open window (2 cm opened); and (ii) listening to music, during both day and night driving on an open motorway. Both subjective sleepiness and physiological sleepiness (blink duration) was estimated to be significantly reduced when subjects listened to music, but the effect was only minor compared with the pronounced effects of night driving and driving duration. Open window had no attenuating effect on either sleepiness measure. No significant long‐term effects beyond the actual countermeasure application intervals occurred, as shown by comparison to the control group ( n = 8). Thus, despite their popularity, opening the window and listening to music cannot be recommended as sole countermeasures against driver sleepiness.