Sleep in a truck berth.

Abstract

The aim of the present pilot study was to study the effects of sleep in a truck berth. Experiment A included eight subjects who slept during two conditions (laboratory and in a truck berth during quiet conditions). Experiment B included two conditions (truck-berth sleep during quiet and noisy/disturbed conditions, respectively); six subjects participated. Polysomnography was recorded and ratings of sleep quality and postsleep sleepiness were made. During the truck-berth conditions, noise was continuously recorded. When two-tailed t tests were used, the results showed no significant effects (alpha level = 0.05) for any of the experiments. However, when one-tailed tests were used, experiment A showed a longer rapid eye movement (REM) latency for the truck-berth condition. Experiment B showed less-refreshing sleep for the disturbed condition (one-tailed test). The noise level was significantly higher during the disturbed condition. The results showed that electroencephalograph (EEG)-recorded sleep was not affected by sleeping in a truck, even when the truck was parked at a noisy location (truck terminal). However, considering some limitations of the experiments, for example small sample size, lack of adaptation night, etc., the present results should be interpreted with some caution and need to be replicated.