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Monday, December 9, 2013

Sleep Deprivation Is A Public Health Issue That’s Deadlier Than You Think

Transportation accidents at work are a major component for work related fatalities. Today's post was shared by RWJF PublicHealth and comes from thinkprogress.org

By Tara Culp-Ressler on December 5, 2013 at 2:21 pm
"Sleep Deprivation Is A Public Health Issue That’s Deadlier Than You Think"
sleep
On Sunday, a commuter train derailed on its way to Manhattan, killing four people and injuring more than 60. It’s not clear exactly what caused the accident, although some reports indicate that the conductor may have been nodding off at the wheel. That’s sparked a broader conversation about sleep deprivation as a public health concern.
Indeed, by some researchers’ estimations, “drowsy driving” is just as dangerous as drunk driving. Both can double the risk of a traffic accident, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that about 100,000 of the annual car crashes in the U.S. directly result from driver fatigue. Teens are particularly at risk for driving while drowsy, a reality that’s led some parents to push to start high school later in the day.
The issue is especially serious among transportation workers, who often literally have hundreds of lives in their hands. According to the Huffington Post, multiple public transportation accidents — not just on trains, but also on buses and airplanes — have been attributed to sleep-deprivation over the past decade.
According to a 2012 survey from the National Sleep Foundation, about one fourth of these workers admit that a lack of sleep has affected their recent job performance. And many of them also acknowledge that this issue...
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