Assessment of Fatigue Based on Workload and Rest Activity CyclesA Pilot Study

Abstract

Fatigue is defined as an unpleasant symptom surrounded by sensations that vary from tiredness to exhaustion. There are several careers that demand much effort from their workers, inducing fatigue and affecting their health and performance. The goal of this paper is to establish a series of alerts to anticipate the level of fatigue an individual exposed to emergency situations may experience. In order to do this, it is intended to make use of non-invasive analysis techniques to monitor physiological parameters (heart rate and internal body temperature). The data used for this work were collected in a laboratory environment from 6 individuals with an average age of 22.67 years. Their physiological responses were analysed and classified using a set of programs created with Visual Basic for Applications software. The obtained data were compared to a fatigue alert system, and results evidenced the internal body temperature as the most consistent parameter. Heart rate and internal body temperature are compatible variables for creating systems capable of indicating and anticipating the conditions resulting from intense physical efforts, which could later lead to fatigue states. The analysis of additional non-invasive parameters is an alternative for refining the system contributing to fatigue prevention and management. (c) 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.