The Sleeping Anesthesiologist: Sleep Deprivation, Night Shifts, and Professional Performance
The effects of sleep loss and shiftwork are well-known – decreased feelings of well-being and decreases in performance. The answer is simple, sleep about 8 hours every night and be awake and functioning during the day. Unfortunately, that is unlikely to happen for everyone in our modern society. As such, we need to better understand our need for sleep and how we can best adapt to changes in our sleep patterns.
A strong influence on our sleep pattern is our endogenous circadian rhythms. We are naturally awake during the day and sleepy at night. This rhythm is primarily influenced by the sun which provides input to our brains and influences our endogenous sleep/wake cycle. Unfortunately, shiftwork can often interfere with our natural circadian processes. Shiftwork can occur as part of a scheduled work system (e.g., 8h shifts, 12h shifts) or as part of an on-call system. It is important to note; however, that regardless of the type of shiftwork, the major problems occur when the person is required to work at night while being exposed to sunlight during the day. The purpose of this presentation will be to provide information about the sleep/wake cycle in humans, how disruptions to the sleep/wake cycle impair performance, and to review possible countermeasures.
