Reliability and validity of a 3-min psychomotor vigilance task in assessing sensitivity to sleep loss and alcohol: fitness for duty in aviation and transportation

Abstract

Abstract Study Objectives The psychomotor vigilance task (PVT) is a widely used objective method to measure sustained attention, but the standard 10-min version is often impractical in operational settings. We investigated the reliability and validity of a 3-min PVT administered on a portable handheld device assessing sensitivity to sleep loss and alcohol in relation to a 10-min PVT and to applied tasks. Methods A total of 47 healthy volunteers underwent a 12 consecutive days sleep lab protocol. A cross-over design was adopted including total sleep deprivation (38 h awake), sleep restriction (SR, 4 h sleep opportunity), acute alcohol consumption, and SR after alcohol intake (SR/Alc 4 h sleep opportunity). Participants performed a 10-min and 3-min PVT and operationally relevant tasks related to demands in aviation and transportation. Results Sleep loss resulted in significant performance impairments compared with baseline measurements detected by both PVT versions—particularly for mean speed (both p < 0.001)—and the operationally relevant tasks. Similar effects were observed due to alcohol intake (speed: both p < 0.001). The 3-min and 10-min PVT results were highly correlated (speed: between r = 0.72 and r = 0.89). Three of four aviation-related tasks showed robust correlations with the 3-min PVT. Correlations with the parameters of the task related to transportation were lower, but mainly significant. Conclusion The 3-min PVT showed a high reliability and validity in assessing sleep loss and alcohol-induced impairments in cognitive performance. Thus, our results underline its usefulness as potential fitness for duty self-monitoring tool in applied settings.