Sleep disorders affecting police officers’safety
A study led by the Dr. Charles Czeisler of the Division of Sleep Medicine at Harvard Medical School has found that many police officers are suffering from the effects of sleep disorders and are consequently putting public safety and their own safety at risk.
Researchers screened about 5,000 police officers across North America and found that 30 percent had a chronic sleep problem, such as insomnia or sleep apnea, which was usually undiagnosed. People with sleep disorders were more likely to suffer from depression, anxiety and job burnout and alarmingly, 46 percent of the police officers polled admitted to having fallen asleep at the wheel, the study found.
Eighteen percent of the officers who reported having sleep disorders admitted to making serious administrative errors, compared to 13 percent of study participants who do not have sleep disorders.
Twenty-four percent of officers with sleep disorders reported having committed other errors or safety violations as a result of fatigue and 34 percent reported being unable to control their temper when dealing with civilians.
