Pilots and train operators are more likely than other workers to say they get less sleep than they need on days that they work, according to the National Sleep Foundation. Train operators are less likely than other transportation workers to sleep eight hours or more on workdays. Transportation workers — especially pilots — often work variable schedules, which can have adverse effects on sleep.
Transportation workers are more likely than other workers to take naps during work, and their employers are more likely to have policies allowing napping during work breaks.
Among the 34% of pilots whose jobs require them to take a rest period between shifts or mid-shift, 79% use the time to take naps.
Transportation workers drink more caffeinated beverages on workdays than workers in other fields — train operators drink an average of 5.4 per day, truck drivers 5.0 per day, and pilots 4.8 per day, compared to 3.7 for non-transportation workers.
About a quarter of train operators (26%) and pilots (23%) say being sleepy affects their job performance at least once a week. A fifth of pilots (20%) say they’ve made at least one serious error at work because of sleepiness. One in 10 pilots (11%) and 18% of train operators have had at least one “near miss” due to sleepiness.
Source: “2012 Sleep in America Poll: Planes, Trains, Automobiles, and Sleep,” National Sleep Foundation, Jennifer Cowher Williams, Marketing and Communications Manager, 1010 N. Glebe Rd., #310, Arlington, VA 22201; 703-243-1697, x211; jwilliams@sleepfoundation.org; www.sleepfoundation.org.
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