TABLE 1.

Experimental and practical considerations for sleep inertia countermeasure research.

Experimental consideration	Practical importance
Exercise intensity	Determine the intensity that workers need to exercise upon waking to counter sleep inertia.
Exercise duration	Determine if a short duration (<2 min) of exercise can counter sleep inertia.
Inclusion of physiological measures (CAR, CBT, CBF, neural activity)	Determine if exercise produces a significant change in physiology upon waking compared to no exercise.
Sleep conditions: •Time of day •Prior sleep restriction •Sleepdepth	Determine the conditions under which exercise performed upon waking is effective or ineffective in countering sleep inertia.
Combination of exercise with other proposed countermeasures (e.g., caffeine)	Determine whether workers should utilize a single or combined strategy to better counter sleep inertia.
Inclusion of subjective and objective measures of sleep inertia	Determine the effect of exercise on alertness as perceived (subjective) vs. the impact on tangible performance benefits (objective).
Inclusion of measures of subsequent sleep and circadian phase	Determine whether exercise, when used as a sleep inertia countermeasure, impacts workers’ subsequent sleep and circadian phase.
Controlling for individual differences (chronotype, age, and sex)	Consider and control for the impact of differences in chronotype, age, and sex on sleep inertia to better determine the effectiveness of exercise as a sleep inertia countermeasure for different individuals.
Influence of type of waking	Determine the effectiveness of exercise as a sleep inertia countermeasure when workers are abruptly woken compared to when they are gently woken and when responding to critical events (e.g., emergencies) compared to when responding to non-critical events (e.g., false alarms).

CAR = cortisol awakening response, CBT = core body temperature, and CBF = cerebral blood flow.