Sleep deprivation
can have a negative impact on our concentration, work performance,
safety, health and
quality of life. Fatal and serious
injuries have happened to many individuals who
were behind the wheels, due to
ramming of their vehicles
in freeways, motorways and national high ways across the globe
with the blink of their eyes
due to lack of sleep.
When it comes to
our safety at work or anywhere else, lack of
sleep can increase the
likelihood of accidents and near misses. Statistics show that
40% of
our
workforce is sleep deprived to some reasons. Here are some
of the
identified concerns:
Irritability – negative emotions
and
lack of sleep go hand in hand.
Inability to learn – Lack of sleep
affects the brains ability to remember and retrieve
information, both long term
and
short term.
Poorer vision – The longer a person
is awake, the more visually impaired they become. Slower
reflexes – Sleep studies
points the finger towards slower reflexes. Distractedness –
The ability to focus requires a person
be fully rested. Sloppiness – One sleepless night contributes
to nearly
25%
increase in the number
of errors made by artisans.
Sleep Deprivation and Safety
The staff will be
under pressure to
complete certain tasks
and when it does not happen, they tend to work beyond the normal working hours
and
it may even
stretch late in the night
even.
When analysing details about overrun
of project estimates, it is found that the amount of extra time and payment received
by employees
is more than the anticipated budget values. How can
this be the case if everything goes normal? This happens due to
excessive working hours consumed and this is taken only from the normal sleeping or rest hours
depriving the employees
of proper
sleep.
Such situations do cause sleep deprivation
and this can trigger
safe employee to become an unsafe employee.
Benefits of Good Sleep
The health benefits of good sleep are important and
beneficial. Some of the points written below
should motivate
employees to get more sleep. Benefits
of a good night’s sleep include:
Longevity of life
– Although researchers are
not sure why, people who
sleep at least eight hours tend to
outlive those who
regularly get less sleep then
eight hours Your immune system
works better – Earlier studies
with sleep deprivation indicates about development of diseases like obesity, diabetes
and hypertension. Good sleep helps sustain the functioning of
the immune system and that chronic
sleep loss is a risk factor for immune
system impairment. You
feel better – When
you have had enough sleep, you tend to
feel better emotionally and physically. Just as
not getting enough sleep creates
a lot of health and safety issues, getting
enough sleep
is essential for a happy and healthy
lifestyle.
It is also mandated by ILO
that basic
amenities for the
comfort of the employees shall
be provided by the employer.
Only then, the
management can get a
satisfactory output from the workers and also the management can overcome the laxity by the
employees under the pretext of no
availability of comfort measures
in their work site for
a healthy state of mind.
Employers
who care about their employees’
health and wellbeing can enjoy the benefits of
workers taking ill and a
few absenteeism
leading to higher
morale
and
productivity. Getting proper sleep is a
very significant factor
for enhancing the morale of the
employees.
No Replacement for “Sleep”
Every time
you
provoke sleep deprivation, you
are inducing mental, emotional and
physical fatigue
to the human body
through your sleep starved brain. It can
lead to problems while performing day-to-day activities
and the acts can
become erroneous
and inconsistent. Hence it
is imperative to
catch up on sleep at some
point in time. Here are some tips for
getting a good night’s sleep:
Don’t change
your sleep on weekends – maintain your
weekday sleep
schedules. Your body gets
used to this sleep cycle soaking in
a hot tub or reading a book before retiring can
greatly improve the quality of sleep one
gets. Make your bedroom sleep
friendly – dark, quiet, comfortable and cool. No TV or electronics
in bed - Watching television
or working on a computer can
impede your ability to
relax and fall to sleep. Avoid caffeine, nicotine
and
alcohol before bedtime.
Just think that people
who get enough sleep are significantly more productive than those who
are deprived and they feel better.
Finish eating at least
two to three
hours before your regular bedtime.
Exercise regularly and complete
your workout a few
hours
before bedtime.
As safety professionals, educate
employees about sleep and get enough sleep yourself. You’ll feel
better, look better and, most likely, be much
more fun to be around and can
carry
out
the works efficiently
and
enhance the reputation
of your organisation by
boosting production as well as earning a good name for you
too. Be punctual, keep a
routine habit and
do not oversleep as well which
also will adversely affect your health
and
work pattern.
Courtesy: Article
written by
Mr Balakrishnan Nair
Mr Balakrishnan Nair
