Real time fatigue assessment: A short review evidencing the relevance of physiological monitoring

Abstract

Fatigue decreases performance and physical strength causing incidents and accidents in operational settings. During military operations, soldiers encounter extreme situations, which combined lead to a fatigue status that can later develop in overreaching (OR) and overtraining (OT) conditions. Studies in real environments are essential to expand the knowledge regarding the consequences of stress exposure and facilitate development of operationally-useful techniques. Nevertheless, there is not much available information on non-invasive physiological monitoring during high training military activities. Therefore, this systematic review, as part of a project for the development of a safety system based on physiological monitoring, aims to evidence the relevance of non-invasive physiological monitoring for detecting stages of fatigue, OR, OT and indicators of potential physical impairments in high intensity training scenarios. Four databases (SCOPUS, PubMed, Medline and Science Direct) are used to develop a data search based on the combinations of keywords. 19 articles are included in this review. Sample characteristics, assessment context, purposes and outcomes of each study, were analyzed. Conclusions regarding the most suitable parameters to be considered within an occupational safety assessment system, applicable to military operational settings, were gathered. (c) Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019.