Summary
In modern society, many people keep working hours different from the standard (9 hours, 5 days a week during conventional time of the day), a regimen leading to sleep deprivation and/or circadian desynchronization, and, consequently, to sleepiness, fatigue, impaired efficiency and ultimately to psychic and somatic complaints. Fortunately, sleepiness-related health and occupational hazards can be kept under control using scientifically tested precautions designed to help maintain wakefulness. Suitable work and rest scheduling and observance of the principles of sleep hygiene are of major importance there. In situations which interfere with sleep, it is possible to use hypnotics or behavioral techniques and melatonin for circadian regimen optimization. In situations when sleep loss is temporarily inevitable, options to be taken into account include work shift shortening, breaks for rest, naps of short duration or administration of vigilance enhancing drugs. In the future, risks associated with sleepiness could be mitigated by means of currently developed technologies for real-time detection of sleepiness.
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Extract
Untimely Sleepiness: The Problem and the Current State of Its Management
1. Introduction
Fatigue and sleepiness are a growing problem in any industrial society increasing demands on efficiency but neglecting keeping up the natural division into the night and day. Insufficient sleep and circadian rhythm disorders are all too frequent and likely to lead to fatalities at and off places of work.1.1 Sleep deprivationThe optimum duration of sleep is estimated at 7-8.5 hours a day. When less than 7 hours is allowed for sleep, the tendency to sleep in daytime is greater. Admittedly, though, the optimum duration of sleep is individual [I]. And yet, the percentage of people who report having 8 hours of nocturnal sleep keeps declining continually. Chronic sleep deprivation is associated with problems of poor health including disorders of sleep, with workplace duties, social life and leisure- time activities [2] . Although sleep deprivation is a more or less voluntary burden, it does have a negative impact on diurnal functions [3].Acute sleep deprivation causes a decline in efficiency and ability to learn. Our mood and its stability undergo a change. Different degrees of sleep drunkenness appear [I]. Positron emission tomography shows brain activity reduction in the prefrontal, parietal and thalamic regions [4].After adjusting to the significant effects of accumulated time awake, circadian amplitude and phase, there was no difference in performance decrements between those with and without sleep apnea in PVT, driving simulator performance and subjective sleepiness. Random- effect s modeling confirmed the p...See the full content of this document
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