Influence of Controlled Breaks on Mental Fatigue: Physical Activity Break vs. Social Networking Break

Abstract: Mental Fatigue is a growing concern in many occupations that require extended work hours. Managing mental fatigue is critical for the air traffic control job, considering the complex nature of the task and the recent substantial increase in air traffic. In a dynamic environment that demands continuous cognitive activity wherein vigilance or sustained attention is necessary, regular and brief rest periods may help alleviate mental fatigue. The focus of our study is to investigate how mental fatigue develops with cognitive activities in a simulated air traffic control task and how a controlled break may affect mental fatigue. The study examined the influence of controlled breaks to help human operators mitigate mental fatigue induced by simulated air traffic control tasks.Fifteen college students were recruited to complete two task sessions with 30-minute strategy training and 75-minute CTEAM simulated air traffic control scenarios separated by a 20-minute controlled break. Two types of breaks were used: a physical activity of brisk walking on a treadmill or a social networking break using Facebook or Twitter ©. Simulation task performance metrics included proximity errors, number of crashes, and activation time. The mental workload for the task sessions was measured using the NASA Task Load Index (NASA-TLX). The participant's self-rated feelings of mental fatigue were collected with a Fatigue questionnaire at the beginning and end of both task sessions. The mental fatigue questionnaire included questions on positive constructs, including calm, confidence, excitement, energy, fitness and motivation, and alertness; and negative constructs, including the need for coffee, concentration difficulty, irritability, stress, need for sleep, need for a short stroll, anxiety, and lack of confidence.The study showed that the presence of a break significantly reduced the subjective feeling of mental fatigue in many sub-dimensions. The two types of breaks, physical or social network breaks, were not different in their effects on the subjective feelings of mental fatigue. A clear increase-decrease-increase pattern for mental fatigue across the four times that mental fatigue was measured showed the development of mental fatigue due to task sessions and the alleviating effect of the break. There were no significant differences in the CTEAM task performance between simulated air traffic control task sessions one and two. No significant differences were found in the participants' mental workloads for the two task sessions. It suggests that although mental fatigue may be developing for the participants, they still worked hard to maintain their level of performance throughout the task sessions. This study shows the importance of incorporating regular controlled breaks in a work shift to help alleviate operators’ mental fatigue.

Keywords: Mental Fatigue, Controlled break, Physical Exercise Break, Social Network Break, Simulated Air Traffic Control Task

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1006593

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