The symposium was attended by nearly 600 people from 16 countries representing all modes of transportation. This event was unique because people from management, labor, academia, and government all worked and learned together. Renowned sleep and fatigue experts talked about the physiological basis for fatigue, sleep disorders, the effect of fatigue on performance and countermeasures to fatigue. The bottom line is that there is no cure or quick fix to fatigue. The only way to counteract fatigue is to get enough sleep.
Sleep loss is cumulative.
If you need 8 hours sleep a night but only get 7, at the end of the week you have a sleep deficit of 7 hours. The only way to repay that debt and alleviate or avoid the fatigue associated with it is to sleep. Napping, particularly naps of about 40 minutes duration, have also been shown to be an effective way to promote alertness temporarily. It is important to realize that naps are not a substitute for a longer period of sleep but instead should be viewed as a supplemental sleep period in addition to a full night sleep. Combating fatigue is a shared responsibility among government, industry, and employees.