A new study conducted by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health has revealed some fairly obvious information – the more people work, the less sleep they are likely to get.
The information in the study shows that about one third of the workers surveyed said they sleep six or fewer hours each night. This is a pretty stark contrast to the good health amount of sleep which is between seven and nine hours each night. Those with multiple jobs or clocking more than 40 hours seem to be sleeping the least of all.
Another observation that comes as no surprise is the fact that those who are separated or divorced are missing out on sleep too, which includes single parents. Employees in the mining industry have about 41 percent sleeping less than six hours per night while 38 percent of utility workers sleep less than six hours.
Perhaps the scariest of the statistics within this sleep-deprived study relates to those working in the transportation and manufacturing field. As high as 70 percent of people in that field who are working the night shift are getting less than six hours of sleep, including train operators, bus drivers and semi-truck drivers.
As the study reveals, sleepiness can cause an increase in the number of vehicle accidents and possible accidents on the job. This is something to seriously be considered in looking at all workers, and especially those mentioned above that drive trains, semi-trucks and busses.
Although this study focused on how work affects sleep, lack of proper sleep does affect other areas of your health. Several studies have shown that lack of proper sleep can throw off your biological clock, and increase things like risk of fatigue, mental and emotional stress, and mood swings.
Some of the ways to enhance your sleep are to include 30 to 90 minutes of exercise each day, take a warm bath before bed, and avoid consuming too much caffeine and alcohol. Getting plenty of sleep is important and with this new study, we see how being overworked can contribute to not getting enough.
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