Zeiner Klaus, Dabiri Babak, Burns Ciara, Kummer Lena, Kaniusas Eugenijus
Institute of Biomedical Electronics, TU Wien, Vienna, Austria.
Front Physiol. 2023 Sep 19;14:1244438. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2023.1244438. eCollection 2023.
Unassisted rowing across the Atlantic Ocean is an extreme undertaking challenging the human body in every possible way. The reported rowing journey lasted for 42 days in a small vessel with 12 rowers, each rowing for 12 h a day, broken into 3 h shifts. This schedule disrupts the natural circadian cycle and autonomic balance, affecting subjective and objective wellbeing and sleep quality, that lack continuous empirical quantification. With a self-reported questionnaire and objective heart rate variability measurements every second day in a single female rower, we monitor evolutions of the subjective sleep quality and mental wellbeing as well as autonomic body control over the journey duration. We evaluate the hypothesis that extreme rowing impairs subjective and objective data in a similar way over time and that 3 h shifts diminish the circadian rhythm of the autonomic body control. The sleep quality was mainly influenced by wake ups during sleep, while mental wellbeing was predominantly influenced by physical exhaustion. The perceived sleep quality and wellbeing dropped 2-3 days after the start with the rower not yet accommodated, in the middle of the journey with major wake ups, and again 5-6 days prior to the end with major exhaustion of the participant. Evolutions of the subjective perceptions diverge from that of the heart rate variability. The body's autonomic recovery during short sleep periods progressively decreases over the journey duration while the vagal activity rises and the sympathovagal balance shifts towards vagal tone. The shifts of 3 h weaken the circadian rhythm of the heart rate variability. Our results demonstrate how human body meets extreme mental and physical exhaustion on the high seas. The gained physiological and psychological insights also offer a basis for effective preparation of undertakings involving extreme physical exhaustion and sleep deprivation.
无协助划船穿越大西洋是一项极其艰巨的任务，它会以各种可能的方式挑战人体极限。据报道，此次划船之旅在一艘小船上持续了42天，有12名划船者，每人每天划12小时，分3小时一班轮流进行。这样的日程安排打乱了自然的昼夜节律和自主平衡，影响主观和客观的健康状况以及睡眠质量，而这些方面缺乏持续的实证量化研究。通过对一名女性划船者每隔一天进行一次自我报告问卷调查和客观的心率变异性测量，我们监测了整个旅程中主观睡眠质量、心理健康状况以及身体自主控制能力的变化。我们评估了这样一个假设：随着时间的推移，极限划船会以类似的方式损害主观和客观数据，并且3小时的轮班安排会削弱身体自主控制的昼夜节律。睡眠质量主要受睡眠期间醒来次数的影响，而心理健康主要受身体疲劳的影响。在旅程开始后的2 - 3天，划船者尚未适应时，以及在旅程中间因多次醒来，还有在旅程结束前5 - 6天参与者极度疲惫时，感知到的睡眠质量和健康状况都会下降。主观感受的变化与心率变异性的变化不同。在整个旅程中，短睡眠期内身体的自主恢复能力逐渐下降，而迷走神经活动增加，交感神经与迷走神经的平衡向迷走神经张力方向转变。3小时的轮班安排削弱了心率变异性的昼夜节律。我们的研究结果展示了人体在公海上如何应对极端的精神和身体疲劳。所获得的生理和心理见解也为有效准备涉及极端身体疲劳和睡眠剥夺的任务提供了依据。
