Due to the work nature of airline pilots, who often cross several timezones and regions of sunlight and darkness in one day, and spend many hours awake both day and night, they are often unable to maintain sleep patterns that correspond to the natural human circadian rhythm; this situation can easily lead to fatigue. The NTSB cites this as contributing to many accidents[unreliable medical source?]  and has conducted several research studies in order to find methods of combating fatigue in pilots.
Try to answer this question if possible (otherwise reply "unanswerable"): What can the lack of regular sleep patterns cause?
fatigue