Wake Me Up When It’s Over
While working an 11 PM to 7 AM shift a few weeks ago as 911 dispatcher, I literally felt my blood pressure drop. My hands started shaking, my face went white, and my peripheral vision filled with stars. My body is not used to being awake in the middle of the night and was rebelling against the lack of sleep. I accepted a ride home from a coworker, and promptly fell asleep for a luxurious ninety minutes before my day started again.
Emergency response personnel work erratic schedules. Sometimes days, sometimes afternoons, sometimes nights, and sometimes all of the above. 24 hours on 48 hours off. Four twelve hour shifts. Five eight hour shifts. Three days on and six days off. Split shifts.
It is recommended that adults get eight hours of sleep every night. If you miss one hour of sleep each night during, it is as hard on your system as missing one entire night’s worth of sleep. Not to mention, that a lack of sleep leads to a multitude of health problems. Obesity, cardiac stress, and hypertension have all been linked to a lack of sleep.
Sleep deprivation causes health problems, puts you at risk for falling asleep at the wheel, and makes you downright tired. What do you do to make sleep a priority?
Related posts:
- Sleep Deprivation and Fatigue
- Serious Gaming for EMS Providers Part 1
- Elearning for Community Education
Tags: Fatigue, Health, Safety and Health, Sleep, Sleep Deprivation, Wellness
