Egg-timer enlightenment
From PlaneTruth
Wake up call: A Scandinavian airline installed timers in the overhead panel years ago so the crew would not nap past a predetermined time.
After the Scandinavians sold those aircraft off I acquired 8000 hrs in them. With the long range navs showing 1700+ miles to destination the seat would be reclined for a controlled snooze putting the overhead with its egg timer into view. Often wondered about the true purpose of the timer as I drifted, looking at it, into the land of nod. We all honestly thought it was primarily to prevent the engineer running a tank dry while balancing out the fuel packages. Now I(we) know; thanks for the information.
Fatigue is accumulative, it takes time to both develop and recuperate from with the only certainty when operating under its influence being that sleep won't necessarily occur at the time or place of choice. Due to the nature of the beast all pilots occasionally fly when they're tired and a 'controlled snooze at cruise' is preferable to a micro blackout of REM sleep on final. Sleeping is as fundamental to the human condition as breathing. To deny sleep in a safe environment when it's sorely needed goes against common sense and good CRM.
jet_noseover .
Attitude check: Your head would seem to be fully inserted.