Editorial: Maintaining Health, Safety and Cognitive Function Under Challenging Environmental and Working Conditions

Kurzfassung

We humans have always aspired to occupy niches, both spatial and temporal. We have illuminated the night and started working around the clock, we have conquered the skies and explored space, and we are connected on a global scale never seen before. As an (unintended) consequence, our lives and work conditions have become much more challenging in many ways, with sleep and biological rhythms tested by irregular working hours, night and rotational shift work. These temporal challenges often result in short sleep and disrupted circadian rhythms threatening health and safety, especially in operational settings where impaired health and cognitive performance can have severe consequences. While associated risks to health and safety are well-documented, the goal of this Research Topic was to shift the focus to potential solutions and gather novel findings on how to stay healthy and maintain performance under challenging environmental and working conditions. Of particular interest were studies that explored (i) strategies to improve or maintain health and safety in temporally challenging environments and working conditions, such as shift/night work, irregular/flexible work hours, and home office; (ii) strategies to improve or maintain cognitive performance, fatigue, and duty-readiness in challenging operational environments, such as spaceflight, aviation, emergency/rescue services, hospitals, maritime and military operations; and (iii) the role of individual factors in maintaining health, safety, and cognitive function under such challenging conditions.