Driving performance, effect sleep deprivation

De Valck, E., De Groot, E. Cluydts, R. (2003). Effects of slow-release caffeine and a nap on driving simulator performance after partial sleep deprivation. Percept. Mot. Skills 96 (1), 67-78. 

As noted earlier, an effective assay of the cognitive impact of sleep loss should be sensitive to the homeostatic drive for sleep in interaction with the endogenous circadian pacemaker (33,58). From Figure 3, it is evident that the PVT fulfills this requirement, with performance during 88 hr of sleep deprivation demonstrating both a monotonic component to impairment, which increases with increasing time awake, and a rhythmic oscillation in performance, which fluctuates in daily cycles. 

A typical countermeasure used by sleepy drivers is to turn on the air conditioner or open a window. Two aspects of this stimulus can be considered in analyzing it as a countermeasure. The first is the cold temperature of the stimulus, or in the least a change in temperature. There has been very little study of the effectiveness of cold temperature as a countermeasure. The simulated automobile drive study cited above also included a cold-air condition produced by the automobile air conditioner (22). As with the radio, cold air had a minimal and transitory alerting effect. The fact that temperature change may be the critical factor is seen in a study that showed heat (92°F) improved performance from basal levels during sleep deprivation, although the impact was very time-limited (24). 

---