Abstract

This study examined physiological and self-reported indicators of stress and fatigue in four student pilots during training flights at Purdue University. Each pilot wore a wrist sensor that recorded heart rate, electrodermal activity, temperature, and acceleration, and completed pre and post-flight ratings of stress, fatigue, and sleep questionnaire. The pilots flew different types of training sessions, providing variation in environmental and flight conditions. All physiological data were cleaned and standardized before analysis. Across pilots, temperature and electrodermal activity generally increased during flight, showing a gradual rise in arousal that can come from several factors, including heat, physical effort, and normal physiological activation. Heart rate showed shorter, sharper changes that tended to appear during more intense moments in the flight, suggesting it may be more sensitive to brief shifts in stress. Self-reported fatigue increased for all participants, showing a pattern similar to the gradual rise seen in temperature and electrodermal activity, while stress ratings remained mostly steady. Sleep questionnaire results indicated generally healthy long-term sleep habits, lowering the chance of major confounding from chronic sleep issues. Overall, the physiological and subjective measures together suggest that slower trends in the signals may relate to developing fatigue, while quicker heart-rate changes may reflect momentary stress, though these interpretations are not definitive given the small sample size.

Keywords

fatigue; pilot; sleep disturbance; stress; well- being

Date of this Version

2025

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