World Sleep Day a Reminder of Risks of Fatigue in EMS

In a profession where rest comes at a premium, organizations have started to take steps to ensure EMS personnel are well-rested and ready to go during their shifts.

To acknowledge the critical importance of sleep, the National Sleep Foundation recently held Sleep Awareness Week from March 6-13. The National Sleep Foundation distributed tips for getting good sleep and an infographic on the health benefits of sleep.

Friday, March 18, is noted as World Sleep Day, presented by the World Association of Sleep Medicine, with participation across 68 countries.

The slogan for this year’s World Sleep Day is “Good Sleep is a Reachable Dream,” and the aim of the day is to raise awareness about the detrimental health affects of poor sleep.

To learn more about World Sleep Day, visit website.

EMS World has extensively covered issues surrounding exhaustion and lack of sleep in EMS. For more on this issue, see some of our previous stories:

Fighting Sleep Deprivation in EMS—This article covers the professional affects of sleep deprivation, and how to start a conversation at your organization about implementing policies to prevent the issue.

An EMS Emergency: Sleep Deprivation and Fatigue—In this article, the affects of fatigue, including effects highlighted in a March NHSTA study. Tips are given to help create a personal plan to fight fatigue. 

MedEvac Foundation to Fund In-Depth Sleep Study for EMS Practitioners—In January of 2015, the MedEvac Foundation announced grant funding for a study on sleep-wake patterns and real-time fatigue in EMS.

Don’t Lose Sleep Over It—A profile of CIRCADIAN, an organization that studies workforce performance in 24/7 industries, including EMS. The article covers some of the science behind fatigue, and provides some tips to fight it.

Dead Tired—An extensive look at fatigue and sleep deprivation in EMS, and the detrimental professional and the startling effects it can have.

Stress and Sleep Deprivation in EMS—A look at stress in EMS and how it can affect EMS personnel’s sleep patterns and vice versa.

Seeking Shift Work Solutions—Examining the effects of long shift on sleep patterns and fatigue, the negative effects and the increase in the chance for error when fatigued.

What You See at Work & How You Sleep—Looking into nightmares and night terrors caused by stress on the job, and how they can lead to insomnia or sleeplessness, affecting fatigue on the job.

Is Work Keeping You Awake?—Researching how to get good sleep, even after a stressful shift, and how that affects your health.