This study will combine sweat and saliva samples and questionnaire data collected before and after driving and before and after listening to healing music. Changes in organic and inorganic components will be analyzed using multivariate analysis and other methods to explore associations with driving fatigue, stress levels, and other conditions.

Background and Objectives of the Study

In recent years, factors such as growing demand for logistics have increased the importance of managing drivers' conditions. Although regulatory frameworks are steadily being developed, including mandatory alcohol checks, current health assessments in transportation operations primarily consist of annual health checkups and daily roll calls. Further technological advances are expected to enable an objective and quantitative understanding of conditions that change from day to day, such as fatigue, stress, and drowsiness.

Particularly in the transportation and vehicle service industries, driver shortages and an aging driver workforce have become serious challenges. This has increased the importance of driver safety and health management, including addressing long hours of driving and preventing accidents believed to be caused by drivers' health conditions.

Against this background, this study focuses on drivers' sweat. Sweat contains a wide range of biological information, including organic and inorganic components, and may reflect changes in a person's condition. Rather than the conventional approach of measuring only a single component, the study aims to establish a new approach to capturing changes in a person's condition through "multivariate analysis," which analyzes changes in numerous components together. In addition, the study will use healing music provided by Della to evaluate its relaxation and stress relieving effects and examine the effects of music on participants' conditions.

Overview of the Study

In this study, sweat and saliva samples were collected from drivers engaged in JAF MEDIA WORKS' transport (vehicle towing) operations before and after driving and after listening to healing music. Questionnaire surveys to assess stress and perceived fatigue were also conducted at the same time.

Sweat samples collected using a noninvasive extraction method that places minimal strain on the body will undergo inorganic component analysis using inductively coupled plasma (ICP) analysis and organic component analysis using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, led primarily by TANAKA MIRAI Lab. Exploratory analysis will also be conducted to examine correlations between changes in multiple components and the condition of the study participants.

* This study is being conducted with approval from the Research Ethics Committee for Research Involving Human Subjects, Public Health Research Foundation. An anonymized data management system has been established in which personal information is kept separate from analysis data.

Press Release: https://www.acnnewswire.com/docs/files/20261029_EN.pdf