Evaluation of a self-regulating skill for rapid attention recovery (rART)

Positive self-regulation skills can improve attention and mental-effort with the potential of reducing life threatening human errors and omissions in safety-critical industries. An operant, non-chemical method was investigated to instantly change mental-state to recover attention and capacity for mental-effort in late night tasks while subject to accumulated diurnal fatigue. The rapid Attention Recovery Technique (rART) was investigated in delivering the training via online instruction to student pilots and others. Baseline neuro-cognitive test results were not predictive with respect to task completion, however non-compliance with study protocols was characteristic of non-completers. Subjective reports of the efficacy of the method attested to improved attention recovery obtained by the rART.