On Wednesday 27 May 2009 at 8:30pm, SBS aired the first episode of ‘Dead Tired’ a documentary outlining the results of ground breaking research from around the globe into the affects of sleep deprivation in our 24-hour society. The major finding of this global research is that sleep deprivation radically impairs health and performance – both mental and physical.
During the study, a subject did a 2 hour driving test after being sleep deprived. Within this time, it was found that he had many brief episodes of sleep (microsleeps) totalling 25 minutes, despite having his eyes open. The scary conclusion of this study is that sometimes we can fall asleep momentarily with our eyes open and without our knowledge.
Optalert was highlighted as an Australian high-tech solution for the detection of fatigue. Scientists feel that the next step in the management of fatigue in our society is for technology such as Optalert to monitor and provide real-time feedback to people. Optalert has the ability to measure, predict and warn of dangerous levels of fatigue – allowing drivers to pull over before the onset of a microsleep.
Some alarming facts raised in 'Dead Tired'
- 1 out of 3 of us are sleep deprived
- We make 10 times more mistakes when we’re tired
- 1/3 of workplace accidents are fatigue related
- Shift workers make up 19% of employers around the globe, and yet they get less than 6.5 hours of sleep daily
- In the US health industry, 1 out of 20 interns admit to having made a fatigue related mistake that has resulted in the death of a patient
- 1 out of every 4 vehicle accidents in Australia is caused by a drowsy driver
- In the US, 80,000 people fall asleep behind the wheel every day and 8,000 of them die per year
- A relatively small amount of sleep deprivation can lead to a number of life threatening conditions, such as diabetes
- Beyond 16 hours of wakefulness, we start to experience impairments very similar to someone with a blood-alcohol level of 0.08%
Links
- If you missed Episode 1 of ‘Dead Tired’ you can view it here.
- Listen to an interview with Paul Scott, the Producer of ‘Dead Tired’
- Don’t miss Episode 2 on SBS Wednesday 3 June 2009 at 8:30pm
