Impacts of Long-Term Night Vision Goggle Use on Fatigue and Cognitive Performance

Night-vision goggles (NVGs) are an essential tool used under low-light conditions and during nighttime operations to augment human vision. Often, individuals must use NVGs over long periods of time and across multiple days; however, the specific effects of sustained NVG usage on cognitive performance and differences in performance between NVG types are relatively unknown. To better examine these issues, we assayed performance on common visual acuity, working memory, and sustained vigilance tasks with seven participants wearing either green or white phosphor NVGs across three eight-hour sessions, each separated by a week. Results of the study indicate that performance on cognitive tasks is similar between the two NVG types in the short term, but better for participants using green phosphor NVGs over longer periods of time. These preliminary results highlight the nuances of long-term usage of night vision technologies and its impact on cognitive performance in operators.