Sleep-Deprived Transportation Workers Survey: 1 in 10 Are Tired
A survey has just been completed, which found that one in 10 American transportation workers may experience sleep deprivation.
The National Sleep Foundation (NSF) found that truck drivers, pilots, train conductors and other transportation personnel may be several times more likely to have symptoms of sleep depravity.
"It is exciting that we are finally able to see the statistics and hopefully do something to improve the situations for our transportation workers," sleep medicine expert Joyce Walsleben said.
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Walsleben added that many transportation workers "are forced to work horrendous schedules, which puts us all in jeopardy. Too many societal tragedies have already occurred because of sleepiness."
The survey was conducted this year and is the first of its kind, according to the NSF. It involved nearly 1,100 pilots, truck drivers, train engineers, conductors as well as bus, taxi and limousine drivers who were all over the age of 25. The survey also included non-transportation workers for comparison.
The survey found that as much as 11 percent of these employees work while they are tired, compared to seven percent of non-transportation workers.
"Transportation workers experience considerable variability in the days they work, the times they work and the amount of time off between shifts," Patrick Sherry, sleep researcher with the University of Denver Intermodal Transportation Institute, said, according to the NSF news release.
Sherry continued: "This makes it difficult for such workers to maintain regular sleep/wake schedules, which can, in turn, make it difficult for these workers to maintain alertness on the job."
The survey revealed that more than half of pilots and train operators experience "sleep dissatisfaction" explained that those individuals rarely are fully rested when they work. This was the most by any group.
"We should all be concerned that pilots and train operators report car crashes due to sleepiness at a rate that is six times greater than that of other workers," according to Dr. Sanjay Patel, a sleep researcher at Brigham Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School.
