Sleep and Fatigue

Fatigue Management Solutions Ltd.
Calagary-based company conducts rail industry fatigue risk analysis and management consulting and briefings around the world, South Africa, Australia, the UK and Ireland. Assisting rail management and safety critical staff collectively and cooperatively understand and manage fatigue risk causes and costs through specialised fatigue risk assessments and customised fatigue management countermeasure recommendations programmes

Overtime and Extended Work Shifts: Recent Findings on Illnesses, Injuries and Health Behaviors
This document presents an integrative review of the methods and findings from 52 studies that were published between 1995 and 2002 and examined the relationship between long work hours and selected health outcomes. The review indicates that the influence of long working hours on health and safety involves a complex interaction of a number of factors. Authors recommend issues and priorities to consider in future research.

The British Sleep Society
C consists of healthcare workers (medical, non-medical, nursing and technical) and scientists who have a particular interest in sleep and its disorders.

Carnegie Mellon's Robotics Institute, Copilot
The first device to accurately detect and track drowsiness and provide a warning to the driver.

The Current Status of Fatigue in the Railroad Industry
Excellent compilation of resources from Patrick Sherry, Ph. D., Univ. of Denver

Dr. Sherry also offers and an on-line course Fatigue and Railroad Life and maintains the North American Rail Alertness Partnership on-line page.

The Great Awakening
With a Pill Called Modafinil, You Can Go 40 Hours Without Sleep -- and See Into the Future
Extensive article from the Washinton Post on a drug that takes away the diesire to sleep.

International Sleep Medicine Association
The International Sleep Medicine Association is the first and only organizations to link all people interested in sleep health and sleep disorders around the world. It is the first true Internet Sleep Portal.

Managing Pilot Fatigue - A Unique Approach
From Transport Canada. A program to to establish fatigue profiles for individual pilots ; to develop tools that allow pilots to monitor their own fatigue levels ; to evaluate the effectiveness of a variety of fatigue countermeasures
Also from TC Fatigue in Transportation – TDC Library Holdings and a news realease about the results on the largest and most comprehensive over-the-road study of truck driver fatigue and alertness ever carried out in North America

SynchroTech
SyncroTech is a consulting firm specializing in Shiftwork, Sleep, and Schedule Management. The company provides customized educational programs and work scheduling systems to all levels of personnel in a wide range of operational settings.

Shifting to Wellness
Through the resources offered in the Shifting to Wellness program, shiftworkers and their families can become more educated about shiftwork, learn better ways to cope with shiftwork and maintain a healthy, balanced lifestyle

NAPS New Abstracts and Papers in Sleep
Weekly personalized E-mail Alerts of new citations, Author abstracts, Compilation of the current week's literature in sleep, Archival cumulation of the current year's literature in sleep, Search and retrieval capabilities customized for sleep

The Nighshift Initiative
Articles on sleep, shiftwork, training and health

Alert@Work
Providing a variety of educational resources, seminars and consulting services.

The Shiftwork Benchmarking Institute
Schedule analysis, training and consulting

The National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health (US)
Small blurb from NIOSH re. fatigue

Legislation Targets Fatigue
New bill to limit the railroads' ability to implement employee availability policies has been introduced into the House of Representatives

Fatigue Countermeasures Program
This department of NASA has been collecting systematic and scientific information on fatigue, sleep, circadian rhythms, and in-flight operations since 1980. The work they have been doing, although intended for flight operations, relates very closely to the conditions we work under here at the railway.

National Sleep Foundation
Comprehensive information about sleep and sleep disorders, including the latest "Sleep in America" poll

Sleep / Wake Disorders Canada
Do you have a sleep disorder? Information and links.

Introduction to Sleep Disorders
From the Nurse Practitioner's page

Fatigue Information From UTU International
A collection of documents and research regarding fatigue in transportation

TSB Canada's Accident Investigations indicating fatigue as a factor

Sleepnet
Everything you wanted to know about sleep disorders but were too tired to ask. SleepNet's goal is to link all the sleep information located on the internet. As new sites become available they will be linked here.

Fatigue Resources Directory
A resource directory maintained by NASA's Fatigue Countermeasures Group.

Circadian Technologies Inc.
The people involved in crew fatigue countermeasures pilot projects in US and Canada

Shuteye Sleep. It doesn't have to be a dream.
Better living through chemistry from D. Searle and Co. Sleep tips too!

Comprehensive information on the science of fatigue and countermeasures HTML Format
PDF Format (from UTU Intl.) Other documents

2001 Sleep in America Poll
National Sleep Foundation national survey of American adults, examined the public's beliefs and habits regarding sleep, and the consequences of those beliefs and habits.

Helping Yourself to a Good Night's Sleep
National Sleep Foundation article looks at diet, exercise patterns, sleeping environments, personal habits and lifestyle to determine how individuals can develop their own sleep plan.

Keep the Lights on for me: Coping with Call Centre Shiftwork
David Swenson examines the effects of night work and fatigue on emergency call centre dispatchers.

Exercise and the Bottom Line: Promoting Physical and Fiscal Fitness in the Workplace: A Commentary
Nicholas DiNubile and Carl Sherman discuss physical fitness programs in the workplace, and suggests that employers who offer exercise opportunities may benefit from reduced healthcare costs, absenteeism, injury rates and turnover and from improved job performance, productivity and morale.

Clinical Applications of Melatonin in Sleep Medicine
Rod Hughes discusses the clinical applications of melatonin and the trials that should take place prior to any recommendations for use of the hormone are to take place.

Do Work-Site Exercise and Health Programs Work?
Roy Shephard reports studies of high profile work-site wellness programs suggest a number of important advantages for sponsoring corporations.

Napping on the Job: Good!?
J. Robert Connor  writes that research has shown that a nap can improve productivity and help reduce the number of on-the-job accidents.

Get More Sleep -Or it Will Get You
Sharon McDonnell reports not getting enough sleep can harm your mood, memory, ability to learn and concentrate, and job performance.

Timing it Right
Julia McNamee Neenan writes that a new study suggests that shiftworkers may suffer from indigestion and other health problems because their many inner clocks can't keep up with their sleep schedules.

Why Shift Work can Harm the Heart
Jeff Kelliher reports our hearts are programmed to relax at night. That's why heart and blood pressure problems plague people who work evening and night shifts.

Jet Lag's Not All in Your Head
A team of Japanese and American scientists believe that along with the main circadian clock known to exist in the brain, other parts of the body have 'local' circadian clocks -which take longer to adjust following a time change.

Retiming Meals Resets Body Clock
Edward Edelson reports on a new study that suggests how and when you eat could synchronize all your organs.

Circadian Rhythms and Emergency Medicine Practice
Judith Green-MacKenzie and Amy Behrman provide a good overview of fatigue and it's consequences.

Melatonin Shown to Reset Body Clock
Edward Edelson reports on the use of hormone melatonin to restore a normal sleep pattern in blind individuals, and achievement they say establishes a role for the controversial compound in a number of sleep disorders.

July 14, 2005