NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS | April 15, 2016 | PAGE 5
Lack of
sleep can impact
workplace safety
S
cientific research shows a
connection between lack of
sleep and workplace accidents.
A study at Harvard Medical
School estimates that insomnia
is responsible for 274,000 work-
place accidents and errors in the
U.S. each year.
Global Corporate Challenge,
a provider of employee health
and performance services, col-
lected data from nearly 300,000
workers at 1,200 organizations.
More than 20 percent of em-
ployees self-rated their overall
sleep as “extremely poor,” “very
poor” or “poor.” Of those, 93
percent were more likely to ex-
hibit fatigue on the job, which is
a common symptom of Exces-
sive Daytime Sleepiness, a con-
dition “proven to increase risk
of absenteeism, accidents and
injury in the workplace.”
The Center for Disease Con-
trol and Prevention reports that
30 percent of adults in the U.S.
suffer from sleep deprivation.
Mark Raymond, an elec-
troencephalographic technolo-
gist at Mercy Medical Neuro-
physiology and Sleep Lab, told
the Sioux City Journal that get-
ting only four hours of sleep
nightly for a week might be akin
to the equivalent to a blood al-
cohol level of .1 percent —
“possibly making it safer to be
drunk than sleep impaired once
you reach a certain level.”
Sleep experts say an adult
needs a minimum of seven
hours of sleep to properly func-
tion. Researchers at Harvard
Medical School have identified
a variety of practices and habits
that can help anyone maximize
the hours they spend sleeping,
even those whose sleep is af-
fected by insomnia, jet lag, or
shift work.
Here are some simple tips for
making the sleep of your dreams
a nightly reality:
• Exercise helps promote rest-
ful sleep if it is done several
hours before you go to bed.
• Avoid caffeine, alcohol,
nicotine, and other chemicals
that interfere with sleep. Lighten
up on evening meals, too.
• A quiet, dark, and cool envi-
ronment can help promote
sound slumber. Lower the vol-
ume of outside noise with
earplugs or a “white noise” ap-
pliance. Use heavy curtains,
blackout shades, or an eye mask
to block light, a powerful cue
that tells the brain that it’s time
to wake up. Keep the tempera-
ture comfortably cool—be-
tween 60 and 75 degrees —and
the room well ventilated. And
make sure your bedroom is
equipped with a comfortable
mattress and pillows. Also, if a
pet regularly wakes you during
the night, you may want to con-
sider keeping it out of your bed-
room.
• Keeping computers, TVs,
and work materials out of the
bedroom will strengthen the
mental association between
your bedroom and sleep.
• Keep a consistent sleep
schedule. Going to bed and
waking up at the same time sets
the body’s “internal clock” to
expect sleep at a certain time
night after night. Try to stick as
closely as possible to your rou-
tine on weekends to avoid a
Monday morning sleep hang-
over. Waking up at the same
time each day is the very best
way to set your clock.
• Establish a soothing pre-
sleep routine. Light reading be-
fore bed or a hot bath is a good
way to prepare for sleep. If you
tend to take your problems to
bed, try writing them down—
and then putting them aside.
• Go to sleep when you’re
truly tired. Struggling to fall
sleep just leads to frustration. If
you’re not asleep after 20 min-
utes, get out of bed, go to an-
other room, and do something
relaxing, like reading or listen-
ing to music until you are tired
enough to sleep.
• Don’t be a nighttime clock-
watcher. Staring at a clock in
your bedroom, either when you
are trying to fall asleep or when
you wake in the middle of the
night, can actually increase
stress, making it harder to fall
asleep. Turn your clock’s face
away from you.
• Drink enough fluid at night
to keep from waking up
thirsty—but not so much and so
close to bedtime that you will be
awakened by the need for a trip
to the bathroom.
• Nap early—or not at all.
Many people make naps a regu-
lar part of their day. However,
for those who find falling asleep
or staying asleep through the
night problematic, afternoon
napping may be one of the cul-
prits. If you must nap, it’s better
to keep it short and before 5 p.m.
If your sleep difficulties don’t
improve through good sleep hy-
giene, you may want to consult
your physician or a sleep spe-
cialist.