Train Operators
According to the poll, train operators experience the greatest issues concerning sleep and the impact it has on their lives and job performance.

• 44% state that their weekday routines do not allow for adequate sleep.
• Considering that 14% of train operators were diagnosed with a sleep disorder, it is not surprising that they share the top spot for instances of nightly snoring and waking up “unrefreshed.”
• 26% of train operators report sleepiness impacting their job performance at least once a week.
• 18% attribute a “near miss” accident at work to sleepiness.

Truck Drivers
Along with train operators, truck drivers also find sleepiness impacts their work performance.

• Truck drivers rank with the train operators for nightly snoring.
• 11% have sleep disorders.
• 15% of truck drivers said that sleepiness impacted their job performance at least once a week.
• 14% documented “near miss” accidents while at work.

Pilots
Pilots, like train operators, agree that their workday routines do not allow for proper sleep. Because of this, they rank at the top with train operators for waking up feeling “unrefreshed.” This sleepiness directly affects their job performance.

• 5% suffer from a diagnosed sleep disorder.
• 23% report sleepiness impacting job performance at least once a week.
• Unlike those occupations with “near misses,” 20% associate sleepiness with serious errors committed at work.

Public Transportation Specialists
While public transportation specialists have shorter workdays than their peers in the study, results still show sleepiness affects job performance.

• 18% report getting less sleep than they need during the work week.
• 5% report having sleeping disorders.
• 10% believe sleep impacts their job performance.
• 12% associate a “near miss” at work with their sleepiness.

While sleepiness is common for all workers, sleep-related issues and their association with job performance are higher among those in the Transportation Industry.

With so many lives at stake, this report suggests that intervention is required to ensure transportation safety. To view the poll’s full findings, click here.

Insufficient Sleep and Fatigue

Many workers have undiagnosed sleep disorders. As a result, fatigue and sleeplessness accumulate and are carried over each day until it takes a toll not only on employees’ work competence but also on their physical and emotional health.  Almost anyone who has been sleep-deprived can tell from experience how cranky they become when they don’t get enough sleep the previous night. In the long run, employees with sleep disorders are more likely to be depressed and develop chronic illnesses, which could have been prevented if they had the rest they need.

Based on the results of the annual survey done by the National Sleep Foundation, 40 percent of Americans have felt impatient with a co-worker due to lack of sleep. In terms of work performance, 27% of respondents found it hard to focus at their tasks and 20% think they had decreased productivity.

No matter how much workers try to make up for inadequate sleep by drinking energy drinks or by taking short naps, drowsiness can sneak up on them without warning, which can result in not just missed project deadlines but accidents.

Numerous studies and simulations have proven that sleep deprivation is definitely dangerous especially for manual laborers and drivers. In fact, a sleep-deprived person’s eye-hand coordination is as bad as people who are inebriated. Based on National Highway Traffic Safety Administration statistics, sleep deprivation and fatigue are the root cause of 100,000 vehicular accidents and 1,500 deaths annually.

What Can Be Done?

The prevention of sleep disorders such as sleep apnea and insomnia among employees can make a whole lot of difference in a company’s everyday business operations. Productivity and sloppiness are as contagious as the other, and when workers are sleeping better, they are more likely to positively impact the performance of their colleagues than drag them down to their misery.

Both employers and workers can team up to develop measures that can be observed in the workplace to promote better health and sleeping habits.

A sleep evaluation is the first step that needs to be undertaken when finding a solution for employees’ sleeping disorders. This can help the company save on healthcare costs each year.

Behavioral sleep consultation is a way for companies to confirm the sleep disorders plaguing the companies’ employees. Workers are subjected to a preliminary physical examination where a sleep medicine consultant will assess the employees’ current state of health. Next, workers will be requested to fill out a survey regarding their sleep history as well as a sleep journal where they’ll be asked to monitor any changes in their sleeping habits. More complex tests may be performed on-site or at a laboratory to observe the patient’s brain and physical processes while they were asleep.

Sleep disorders are 100% treatable so employees and employers have nothing to worry about. Once a diagnosis has been made, the sleep medicine consultant will discuss details of the treatment plan that is suitable for you.

Employees who sleep better can expect an improved workplace performance once they start the treatment. Fusion Health has a highly competitive team of Sleep Medicine experts who are ready to assist your organization to enhance your daily operations and treat your associates who are suffering from sleep disorders.

Solutions

FusionHealth offers programs designed to diagnose and treat employees who are at the risk of developing sleep-related disorders. We also provide tips and advice for management leaders on how to set up policies and practices that promote a healthier and safer environment for their workforce.

Unmanaged sleep disorders cause chronic disease such as hypertension, diabetes, obesity, cardio-vascular disease and stroke. Not managing sleep disorders also presents a major obstacle for most treatments that are meant to control those chronic diseases, driving costs even higher.

By identifying employees who suffer from sleep disorders a business can reduce health related costs for these individuals and prevent expensive litigation caused by accidents.  Deploying a comprehensive Care Management Solution for Sleep Disorders is exceptionally important to businesses that make safety a priority, including transportation, manufacturing, retail, logistics and municipalities.  Employees who identify, treat, and manage their sleep disorders improve their health, work more efficiently, and are less likely to cause a dangerous and expensive accident.  FusionHealth can help employers recover millions as they become a healthier and more profitable workplace.

Sleep disorders can be quite costly to companies both in health costs and in lost productivity.

However, the simple and effective treatment of an employee suffering from a sleep disorder results in a healthier, more productive employee who values his company’s interest in his health, which ultimately leads to longer employee retention and workplace satisfaction.

FusionHealth is committed to the diagnosis and treatment of sleep disorders at your workplace.

Our physicians, nurses, therapists and field support technologists help your company become a safer business.  We focus exclusively on sleep medicine, and we will collaborate with your existing occupational health program and DOT physicians.

In addition, we provide most of our services at your location, which results in added convenience for your employees and time effectiveness for your busy company.

·       American Board of Sleep Medicine (F.ABSM)

·       American Board of Dental Sleep Medicine (D.ABDSM)

·       American Board of Psychiatry & Neurology (D.ABP&N)

·       American Board of Otolaryngology (D.ABO)

·       Certified Nurse Practitioners (NP-c) specially trained in Sleep Medicine

·       Registered Nurses (RN)

·       Registered Respiratory Therapists (RRT)

·       Registered Sleep Technologists (RPSGT)

·       Masters Level Sleep Physiologists

Dr. Jeffrey Durmer is one of the nation’s leading experts in Sleep Medicine and a FusionHealth co-founder responsible for all patient care and medical decision making.  He is board certified in Sleep Medicine by both the American Board of Sleep Medicine (F.ABSM) and the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (D.ABP&N) as well as in Neurology by American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (D.ABP&N). In addition he holds a PhD degree in Neuroscience from the University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Durmer sits on the Medical Advisory Board for the Restless Legs Foundation and the Healthy Trucking Association of America and holds an appointment of adjunct Professor at Georgia State University, College of Health and Human Sciences. Dr. Durmer directed the Emory University Sleep Laboratory and Egleston Children’s Hospital Sleep Medicine programs.

The expertise of Dr. Durmer and the technology of FusionHeath have synergized to create an exceptional group of professionals who use proven systems and processes that provide the highest level of Sleep Medicine management.