University of South Australia
Dr. Crystal Yates’s research delves into the effects of sleep loss and circadian misalignment (disruptions to the body’s natural rhythms) on shift workers. Her work specifically examines how sleeping at non-standard times impacts workers’ metabolism, nutrition and cognitive performance. Additionally, she explores countermeasures to mitigate the adverse effects of night shifts on health and wellbeing. Her findings suggest that meal timing, napping and strategic caffeine use can be practical solutions for minimizing the negative health impacts of night work.
Dr. Yates’s recent work investigates the impact of forced disaggregation during sustained operations in military settings on alertness and self-reported sleepiness. This research highlights the unique challenges faced by teams working in distributed and co-located environments and explores potential strategies for maintaining team effectiveness under such conditions including the use of novel technologies.
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