01 Mar 2021
To support optimal health, people aged 18-65 need on average between seven and nine hours sleep per day. Sleep forms part of a natural rhythm of life - a single cell taken from our body and placed in isolation in a laboratory dish will maintain a stable 24-hour pattern, demonstrating that sleep is a force to be harnessed rather than challenged. Indeed, opposing or disrupting sleep and this rhythm of life can be quite harmful
After about 17 hours of not sleeping, our alertness sharply declines, and after 24 hours is equivalent to a blood alcohol concentration of 0.1%. (The legal driving limit is 0.08% in England and Wales, see article).1 Persistent sleep deprivation is also linked to physical health conditions, including weight gain and ageing, and is indicative of cardiac and respiratory disorders.
It’s therefore important to recognise sleep as an unmet public need. A report from the Royal Society of Public Health [see article] has cited that people most likely to be affected are those that work:
Furthermore, individuals working in the gig economy are also noted to be at risk of sleep deprivation which often goes unnoticed especially if they are working for more than one contractor.
Promoting good sleep habits demonstrates a commitment to your employee’s wellbeing and also demonstrates social responsibility, allowing co-workers to encourage each other in adopting healthy behaviours. The workplace is an ideal environment to implement strategies to enable employees to access effective sleep strategies. This can be done by bespoke individual consultations and planning rota’s and shift patterns that minimise sleep pattern disruption.
RPS is a SEQOHS accredited organisation and will work with you to develop a tailored programme of sleep strategies at an individual and workforce level. The assessments can be conducted on an individual and/or group level basis, based on proactive education events or structured wellbeing programmes to suit your company needs. These are delivered by our experienced Occupational Health physicians and Wellbeing Advisors.
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Your contact information:
All fields are mandatory *
RPS is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. We will only use your personal information to administer your account and to provide the products and services you have requested. We would also like to contact you about our products and services, as well as other content that may be of interest to you.