434 



PHYSIOLOGY OF STRESS 



appropriate to study the psychological 

 effects carefully. If there are such effects 

 it would be of interest to know if anticho- 

 hnergic drugs such as those used for com- 

 batting seasickness would counteract the 

 effect without impairment of cerebral circu- 

 lation or other undesirable effects. 



2. Effects of salt and water deficiency at high 

 temperatures. The dramatic and rapid 

 effects of water deprivation at high temper- 

 atures on psychophysiological status, as de- 

 scribed by Bean and Eichna (5) and other 

 workers, suggest it as a means for readily 

 reversible changes in the study of the rela- 

 tion of physical status to readiness, interest, 

 "morale," etc. 



3. Temperature control. Needless to say, 

 warm bullcheads decrease the cooling ob- 

 tained by radiation. At 93 to 95°F. no cool- 

 ing is obtained by radiation or conduction, 

 and at higher temperatures the body may 

 gain heat through these sources. Insulation 

 or shielding of motors and other heat sources 

 where possible offers obvious benefit. Mod- 

 em forms of insulation now have eUminated 

 the old fire hazard. Noise might also be 

 thereby reduced. Furthermore, since one 

 100-watt bulb produces as much heat as one 

 man, it would seem desirable to cut down as 

 far as possible the number of filament lamps 

 and increase the use of fluorescent hghting. 



Since the condensate from the air con- 

 ditioning units is a valuable source of fresh 

 water, it would appear that everyone might 

 benefit by keeping humidity low. There is 

 need for a truly silent air conditioner. 



4. Anticholinergic drugs in motion sickness. 

 The use of anticholinergic drugs for the con- 

 trol of motion sickness raises the question 

 whether there may not under certain con- 

 tions be an increased susceptibiUty to 

 anoxia and hyperventilation due to effects 

 upon the cerebral blood vessels. Results 

 from EEG studies suggest that possibility 

 (24, 25). Research may be indicated. 



5. Alleviation of effects of stress. While it 

 is true that chronic and severe states of 

 fatigue and impairment take an inevitable 



toll of performance and efficiency that must 

 eventually be compensated, it is conceivable 

 that anything that could postpone the day 

 of reckoning would be of value. What can 

 be done for the already dead-tired men 

 aboard when faced with new or continuing 

 emergencies? 



Benzedrine, for example, has been widely 

 used to postpone fatigue and drowsiness. 

 Individuals vary widely in any benefits 

 gained in this way, and "parodoxical" effects 

 are frequent. Chemically, benzedrine is 

 rather similar to ephedrine, both stimulating 

 the sympathetic nervous system; blood pres- 

 sure is increased but blood sugar not affected. 

 Tests of work-to-exhaustion with reflex or 

 more complex activities show that under 

 these conditions more work may be accom- 

 phshed. Best effects, however, occur in the 

 psychological spheres of boredom, mood, 

 willingness to work, and sociability, with 

 improvement being generally manifested. 

 Little work has been done with chronic fa- 

 tigue and impairment states using normal 

 subjects, although there are favorable re- 

 ports dealing vnth the effect of benzedrine on 

 patients suffering from chronic exhaustion, 

 depression and psychoneurosis. 



Caffeine has a direct stimulating effect 

 on muscle (with increased O2 consumption), 

 reflected in such tests as tapping and 

 hand grip. While steadiness may be de- 

 creased (both benzedrine and caffeine make 

 many individuals "nervous"), there may be 

 improved coordination. More prolonged 

 stimulation effects are found on "higher" 

 mental processes such as are involved in 

 color naming, calculation, discrimination, 

 etc. Increased alertness and postponed 

 drowsiness results from ingestion of either 

 benzedrine or caffeine. The deleterious syn- 

 drome of "coffee nerves" that plagues the 

 poor civilian is apparently unknown in he 

 Navy : sack duty retains its popularity, even 

 though a war head be used as a pillow. 



Smoking in an enclosed area such as a sub- 

 marine means that all hands, including non- 

 smokers, are exposed to persistent subacute 



