Plain English Meaning

Sensory overload is when too much is happening for the pilot to keep up. Sensory deprivation is the opposite, when so little is happening that the pilot's mind starts to drift or lose its bearings. Both make it harder to fly safely.

Full Definition

Two opposite human-factors conditions that degrade pilot performance. Sensory overload occurs when the pilot is presented with more information, stimuli, or task demands than the brain can process at once, leading to confusion, missed cues, fixation, or task shedding. Sensory deprivation occurs when external stimuli are reduced to the point that the brain has too little input to maintain normal orientation and alertness, leading to drowsiness, complacency, or .