Health experts say that the average adult needs at least 7 to 8 hours of sleep a night. Why? Because people who don't get enough sleep are at greater risk of obesity and diseases like diabetes, stroke, heart disease, depression, and high blood pressure. Workers who suffer from these conditions may be absent more often and may be more at risk when they are on the job.
Furthermore, Lack Of Sleep Can Lead to Poor Concentration, Poor Judgment, Lessened Attentiveness, and More Mistakes, all of which can make workers less safe. Studies show that people suffering from too little sleep are apt to follow certain unhealthy behaviors, such as:
- Eating foods high in sugar or carbohydrates
- Smoking cigarettes or using tobacco
- Using alcohol or sleeping pills to help them get to sleep
These actions, in turn, can lead to safety problems if your workers are groggy from the side effects of sleeping pills or alcohol, or jittery from too much sugar. If you notice workers who are often yawning or working slowly, mention that they seem particularly tired and remind them that their safety and the safety of others require them to be alert when they're on the job.
Poor Sleep Quality Affects Safety Performance In Other Ways As Well. Many workers who sleep less than 6 hours per night report symptoms such as:
- Becoming impatient with others
- Finding it difficult to concentrate
- Making errors in their work
- Having trouble organizing or failing to finish assigned tasks on schedule
Lack of sleep also leads to drowsy driving, which is estimated to cause thousands of accidents each year.
Night Shifts Have Been Found to be Particularly Risky Because They Interfere With the Body's Normal 24-Hour Sleep Patterns. Both shift work and long work hours have been associated with health and safety risks.
Keep Your Workers Wide Awake And Safe On the Job By Giving Them the Following Suggestions to improve their sleeping habits.
- Set a regular schedule for going to bed every day—they can't make up for a big deficit on weekends.
- Create an environment that promotes comfortable sleeping—quiet, dark, and cool, with a comfortable mattress and pillows.
- Get regular daily exercise, but not right before going to bed.
- Avoid caffeine, alcohol, nicotine, or heavy meals close to bedtime.
- Establish a soothing bedtime routine such as soaking in a warm tub, reading, or listening to soft music.
- Don't use bedtime to start planning—or worrying.
- Make a point of organizing their lives so they can get the 7 to 8 hours of sleep a night that most people require.
Why It Matters
- Recent polls show that during the last 9 years, the number of Americans who sleep less than 6 hours a night jumped from 13 percent to 20 percent.
- Polls also find that more than one-half of adults—potentially 110 million licensed drivers—have driven when drowsy at least once in the past year.
- Nearly one-third of drivers polled (28 percent) say that they have nodded off or fallen asleep while driving a vehicle.
- Another study reports that workers on the graveyard shift are likely to make five times the number of serious mistakes and are 20 percent more likely to suffer a serious injury.
Thanks to SafetyDailyAdvisor
