Summary
On-watch readings of oral temperature were obtained at hourly intervals from submariners during two continuously submerged voyages of 48 days duration. The subjects followed a rapidly rotating watchkeeping system of 4-h dutyspells during the entire period. In the majority of cases, the amplitude of the circadian temperature rhythm progressively declined, and this was accompanied by a tendency for the rhythm to disintegrate into shorter periods, associated with the length of the duty spell and the particular pattern of sleep adopted. On one voyage, one subject's rhythm showed a tendency to “free-run”, with a period of 24.6 h. It is concluded that the results give pointers to the kind of effect to be looked for in studies of shift-workers following similarly highly irregular patterns of work.
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Colquhoun, W.P., Paine, M.W.P.H. & Fort, A. Changes in the temperature rhythm of submariners following a rapidly rotating watchkeeping system for a prolonged period. Int. Arch Occup Environ Heath 42, 185–190 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00377772
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00377772