Vakgroep Menselijke fysiologie (MFYS)

It is not unusual that soldiers are exposed to sustained operations. These operations last for more than 72 hours during which there is hardly any time to rest. Work that has to be conducted during these operations varies from patrols to face to face encounters with the enemy. Thus, soldiers have to be capable to concentrate for long periods of time but they also have to be capable to make important decisions within a short amount of time.
At this moment, commanders determine the sustainability of soldiers based on their personal beliefs and experience. This subjective method is very susceptible for mistakes. An objective tool to predict soldier’s sustainability would be a useful method to support commanders in their subjective decision making process.
Two reviews will be conducted to get better insight in the effects of sustained operations on the cognitive and physical functioning of soldiers. These two reviews will give an overview of what is currently known about the effects of sustained operations on soldier’s cognitive and physical functioning. Unfortunately, no studies are available about the effect of real missions on the functioning of soldiers. In addition, there is only a limited amount of field studies, although these studies come closest to reality.
After gaining an overview of the effects of sustained operations on the cognitive and physical functioning of soldiers, we will investigate whether it is possible to predict sustainability at the start of a training course. Being able to predict soldier’s sustainability before the start of a training course can save money and increase soldier’s safety. This holds true for the actual missions as well.
In addition to predicting soldier’s sustainability before the start of a training course, we will investigate whether it is possible to use formulas to measure physical strain in applied settings. It will be investigated how robust these formulas are under changing circumstances.
This research line runs in close collaboration with the Royal Military Academy of Brussels.