The struggle for parking spaces

Truck drivers are confronted daily with insufficient truck parking spaces. There is currently only one parking space for every 11 trucks on the road. This places pressure on truck drivers to find a secure spot to rest within the limits of their legal work hours, pushing them to make risky decisions to meet their work obligations. As a result, many drivers resort to parking on freeway off-ramps, side streets, and retail parking lots.

Legislative efforts

Both Democrat and Republican lawmakers in Congress have joined forces to address this issue. They are backing bills that would allocate $755 million to build additional truck parking spots nationwide. Truckers are relying on this legislation to provide them with safe places to rest during their mandatory breaks.

Fatigue and drowsy driving

Truck drivers operate under federally mandated “Hours of Service” regulations that aim to prevent fatigue-related accidents. However, recent changes to these regulations have raised concerns about the impact on road safety. Longer on-duty times may lead to fatigue, which impairs a driver’s performance behind the wheel. Fatigue can compromise a driver’s ability to maintain necessary skills like eye-hand coordination and manual dexterity, leading to an increased risk of accidents.

Recent research suggests truck drivers sleep, on average, about 6.2 hours per day before driving, which is less than the recommended 7 or more hours the AASM recommends. Additionally, drivers traveling between time zones may face an additional burden of fatigue. For truckers, the effect of shifting time zones is amplified given their non-traditional work schedule, raising the risk of drowsy driving accidents.

Scheduling variations pose a safety risk as well. Truckers may experience shift work disorder, which occurs when you have difficulties adjusting to your wake and sleep times due to your work schedule. Shift work disorder causes you to have trouble sleeping or be severely tired.

Watch this video for truckers to understand the signs, causes, and consequences of driver fatigue.

The role of sleep apnea

While long work hours can contribute to fatigue, sleep apnea may also play a role. Sleep apnea is a common sleep disorder characterized by pauses in breathing during sleep, leading to poor quality sleep and daytime drowsiness. Sleep apnea can impair drivers’ ability to stay alert and attentive behind the wheel. Estimates into the prevalence of sleep apnea among truck drivers vary; most likely, around 40% of truckers have the sleep disorder.

Despite its potential impact on road safety, there is no federal requirement for sleep apnea testing for commercial motor vehicle drivers. Some drivers fear that undergoing a sleep study and getting diagnosed with sleep apnea could jeopardize their jobs. However, it’s essential to recognize that sleep apnea is treatable. Your medical provider or a sleep doctor can help you select a treatment plan that is right for you.

Conclusion

The shortage of truck parking spaces has become a major roadblock for truck drivers. The constant search for a safe resting place leaves many drivers sleep-deprived and prone to drowsy driving accidents. Providing rest and parking for truck drivers is more than just a convenience, it’s a step toward ensuring safety on the road.

Medical review by John Saito, MD

Related:

• Study shows high rate of truckers with undiagnosed sleep apnea
• Sleep apnea, shift work a danger on the roads and rails

Authored by: Kate Robards

The post The growing shortage of truck parking: A ticking time bomb for drowsy driving accidents appeared first on Sleep Education.

Juliet Schor, an economist and sociologist at Boston College, is tracking over 180 companies around the world as they adopt four-day work weeks.

Results of the truncated schedules are still rolling in, but Schor already sees an improvement in employees’ physical and mental health, life satisfaction, and quality of life.

The early results point to employees getting more sleep, too. Workers slept nearly a full hour more per night during four-day work weeks compared to traditional 40-hour weeks. On average, workers logged 7.58 hours of sleep per night.

Schor also noted a major drop in sleep deprivation. The percentage of people getting less than seven hours of sleep per night dropped from 42.6% to 14.5% when they adopted a four-day work schedule.

The results surprised even Schor. “I wasn’t surprised that people are getting a little more sleep, but I was surprised at how robust the changes were,” she told Bloomberg in an interview.

At a time when people are burned out, stressed, and quitting at record levels, the gift of one day off each week is allowing employees to reclaim time for self-care.

When you get the sleep your body needs, your mind is sharper, you’re more creative, and you’re better prepared to take on challenges. In other words, you’re better equipped to succeed at work.

Even if your organization hasn’t pioneered a four-day work week, prioritizing sleep can improve your health, mood, and relationships.

Use the AASM’s bedtime calculator to find your ideal bedtime based on your age and wake time.

Additional resource:

Watch Juliet Schor’s TED Talk, “The Case for a 4-Day Work Week”

Authored by:

Kate Robards

The post The surprising benefit of 4-day work weeks appeared first on Sleep Education.

The link between sleep and masculinity

A 2021 paper in the Journal of the Association for Consumer Research examines a possible link between sleep and masculinity. The findings suggest that men who sleep less are seen as more masculine. Also, men who sleep less are judged more positively by society.

The study authors ran several experiments with 2,564 participants in the U.S. In one experiment, the participants were asked to describe a “very masculine or manly” man.” In their description, the masculine man got an average of 33 minutes less sleep than their description of a “not very manly” man.

Leading chronobiologist Dr. Charles Czeisler coined the term “sleep machismo” in a 2006 article in the Harvard Business Review. Dr. Czeisler declared that our work culture glorifies sleeplessness, risking our health and safety. To Dr. Czeisler, “encouraging a culture of sleepless machismo is worse than nonsensical; it is downright dangerous.”

Sleep deprivation is not a badge of honor

A “sleep machismo” culture glorifies sleep deprivation. This idea suggests that sleep deprivation is a sign of strength and dedication.

But sleep deprivation is not something to brag about. Sleep deprivation impacts your mind, mood, memory, and even your ability to resolve moral dilemmas. Sleepiness and fatigue on the job lead to lost productivity, difficulty thinking creatively, and more errors and accidents.

Research has suggested that men are more sleep deprived compared to women. A 2012 survey found that nearly a third (29.2%) of men achieved less than 6 hours of sleep on average each night. However, the AASM recommends that adults get seven or more hours per night on a regular basis.

A “sleep machismo” culture is dangerous and unhealthy. Getting enough quality sleep is important for your physical, mental, emotional, and social health. To support your health, follow these healthy sleep tips.

Medical review by Anne Marie Morse, DO

Related:

• How sleep disorders affect men’s health
• Sleep Works for You

Authored by:

Kate Robards

The post Does sleep deprivation make you more manly? appeared first on Sleep Education.

A new study may help explain your sleeplessness. It suggests that a number of emotional and social work factors can have an impact on your sleep.

More than 5,000 people from a variety of jobs completed surveys about sleep and work. Results show that four factors most strongly predicted sleep problems:

• Conflict in the workplace
• A lack of control over job decisions
• Excessive job demands
• A lack of support from managers

The study also suggests that the negative effects of work on sleep can be long-lasting.

Talk to your doctor if work-related issues have a lasting impact on your sleep. Practicing healthy sleep habits also may help get your sleep back on track.

Learn more about the study in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine: Effects of Psychological and Social Work Factors on Self-Reported Sleep Disturbance and Difficulties Initiating Sleep  

The post Problems at work can lead to troubled sleep appeared first on Sleep Education.

The study analyzed data from the American Time Use Survey (ATUS). It included responses from more than 124,000 people. They described how they spent their time in the past 24 hours.

Results show that work is the main activity exchanged for sleep. People who slept 6 hours or less worked 1.55 more hours on weekdays. They worked 1.86 more hours on weekends or holidays.

The highest odds of being a short sleeper were found among adults who work multiple jobs. They were 61 percent more likely than others to report sleeping 6 hours or less on weekdays.

“The evidence that time spent working was the most prominent sleep thief was overwhelming,” said lead author Dr. Mathias Basner. He is an assistant professor at the Penn School of Medicine in Philadelphia.

The authors suggested that one solution is to make work start times more flexible. The study found that workers slept an average of only 6 hours when starting work before or at 6 a.m. But those who started work between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. slept 7.29 hours.

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends that adults get about 7 to 9 hours of nightly sleep for optimal health, productivity and daytime alertness. But CDC data show that 30 percent of employed U.S. adults typically sleep 6 hours or less in a 24-hour period.

“Getting at least seven hours of nightly sleep is essential to be at your mental, emotional and physical best for whatever you will pour yourself into, either at work or at home,” said AASM President Dr. Timothy Morgenthaler.

How about you? Is your job a sleep thief?

Learn more about the study in the journal Sleep: Sociodemographic Characteristics and Waking Activities and their Role in the Timing and Duration of Sleep

View the Little Sleep, Big Cost infographic to see which jobs are the biggest sleep thieves.

The post Many U.S. workers sleeping less to work more appeared first on Sleep Education.

The study involved 3,760 men and women who had been working at any time in the prior year. They reported how many hours they slept on average during 24 hours. Work absences lasting more than 10 days due to sickness were tracked. The average follow-up period was seven years.

Results show that the sweet spot for sleep was between 7 and 8 hours. The sleep duration with the lowest risk of sick time for women was 7 hours, 38 minutes. For men it was 7 hours, 46 minutes.

“Getting at least seven hours of nightly sleep is a key to overall health,” said American Academy of Sleep Medicine President Dr. Timothy Morgenthaler. He is a spokesperson for the National Healthy Sleep Awareness Project.

In contrast, people who reported sleeping less than 6 hours or more than 9 hours per night had the highest risk of an extended absence from work due to sickness. Those sleeping five hours or less missed about five more days of work per year. People who reported sleeping 10 hours or more missed 9 more days of work each year.

The Healthy Sleep Project involves a partnership between the AASM, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Sleep Research Society, and others. Its message is simple: Sleep Well, Be Well.

Sleep well to be well in all phases of your life: at work, at home and at play. Make sure that sleep is one of your top health priorities.

Results of the Sleep and Sickness Absence study are published in the September issue of the journal Sleep.

The post Sleep well, work well: The link between sleep duration and sick time appeared first on Sleep Education.

There are several reasons why night shifts wreak such havoc on sleep, according to Dr. Mark R. Smith, postdoctoral fellow in the Wright Laboratory at the University of Colorado Boulder.

“The human biological clock is hardwired to be awake during they day and sleep at night,” he says. “A large majority of shift workers attempt to work when their bodies are actively promoting sleep. Sleeping during the daytime is a difficult endeavor for most people because the biological clock doesn’t usually adjust to night shifts and promotes wakefulness, not sleep, during daytime hours.”

Depending on their biological clock, some people may be more affected than others. A night owl might cope relatively well with night shift work, while most morning people cope relatively poorly, says Smith. Conversely, a morning person might fare relatively better with a work shift that has an early morning start time, whereas the night owl would suffer with such a work shift.

There are some symptoms that shift workers can look for to determine whether they could have a sleep problem such as shift work disorder.  A primary symptom is sleepiness when attempting to remain awake. Other signs include fatigue and difficulty sleeping, specifically when working night shifts, but not on days off.

A board-certified sleep physician can diagnose and help you manage shift work disorder. Some of the available treatments include bright light therapy, sleep medications and melatonin supplements.

This disorder can be difficult to treat at times because these options don’t always address the actual cause of the “disorder”, which is misalignment between the biological clock and the work shift, adds Smith. “Because the biological clocks of most shift workers don’t change substantially, staying alert during each and every night shift and sleeping during each and every day, goes against the grain of our physiology.”

The post Why sleep is difficult on the night shift appeared first on Sleep Education.

The study, appearing in the April issue of SLEEP, compared workers reporting poor sleep with those who said they slept well. Researchers found that poor sleep patterns were associated with an increase in sick time for injuries. But poor sleep patterns also helped predict whether or not an employee would take extended time off for injuries or mental health reasons. The study showed that sleep patterns were a better prediction tool than poor sleep quality at any one point in time.

For help with troubled sleep, locate an AASM-accredited sleep center near you.

The post Poor sleep patterns predict workers headed for disability appeared first on Sleep Education.

The study compared a group of 31 shift workers to ten daytime workers. Members in both groups were previously diagnosed with sleep apnea and had similar ages, weights and sleep lengths.

Daytime and nighttime polysomnograph results show that the shift workers had more frequent breathing pauses in breathing and higher oxygen desaturation levels. Both measures show that shift workers had more severe symptoms of sleep apnea.

The authors of the study caution that patients with untreated sleep apnea should avoid nighttime work. The Sleep Education Blog urges workers with sleep apnea to take that warning one step further and never let sleep apnea go untreated. Sleep apnea has been linked to heart disease, diabetes, dementia and other serious health problems.

Shift work also can also harm your health. Some workers may struggle with shift work disorder, which causes your internal body clock to go awry. Workers with shift work disorder may be severely tired but unable to sleep. Loss of sleep length and quality may affect job performance and put workers at risk for injury.

Read more about obstructive sleep apnea and shift work disorder.

The post Shift work may cause swell in sleep apnea symptoms appeared first on Sleep Education.

More than 1 in 10 people occasionally wake up before sunrise to go to work. About 2 percent of people do it all the time. But bedtimes rarely change.

Total sleep time ends up falling because of the schedule. People who report to work between 3:00 a.m. and 4:30 a.m. usually slept for less than five hours per night.

Study subjects signaled such sleep loss leads to dissatisfaction with work, fatigue and feelings of not being well rested. Some workers reported trouble sleeping while on early work schedules.

The findings should raise some eyebrows for managers responsible for scheduling employees. Productivity is bound to drop when employees are tired and unhappy.

Sleep disorder or not it’s hard to blame early morning workers for staying up past 9 p.m., after all they have the same modern obligations and distractions as everyone else.

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