The Effects of Sleep Deprivation.

Unfortunately, when it comes to sleep, shift workers face the harsh reality that most people do not function well when they work at night and sleep during the day. Shift work upsets the intricate network of interrelated clocks and schedules that keep the human body functioning efficiently. Circadian rhythms, or a person's sleep/wake cycle, is one factor that controls a person's internal network of clocks and schedules. Some experts believe that if a person disrupts this cycle, other routines (e.g., when a person gets hungry) also get off cycle. [1]

The average person gets 8 hours of sleep for every 16 hours they are awake. Thus, individuals exist in a daily equilibrium in which a relatively small amount of sleep loss causes increased sleepiness. Continued reduction in sleep results in a larger sleep debt and individuals can cope with this sleep deficit in different ways. When the sleep debt reaches a threshold where internal coping behaviors (e.g., the ability to physically stay awake or alert) become overwhelmed, sleep will be imminent. [2]

Research has shown that while sleep loss has negative effects on three basic areas--motor performance, cognitive function, and mood--it has the strongest effect on mood and weakest on motor functions. [3] Total deprivation of under 45 hours left subjects better able to cope with simple and brief test of cognitive function. With partial deprivation, subjects did best on complex, short, cognitive tests, which suggests that attention span is the parameter most degraded by partial sleep deprivation. All subjects did better on shorter motor control tests versus longer ones.

Regardless of the level of deprivation, any loss of sleep can have varying effects on an individual's ability to deal with common day-to-day situations. For police officers, such episodes can have catastrophic results, such as motor vehicle accidents, shootings, inappropriate use of force, or general improper attitudes. [4]

The Problem

Similar to other law enforcement agencies, managers at the Albuquerque, New Mexico, Police Department (APD) must contend with scheduling officers who work the night, late afternoon, and evening shifts for daytime court appearances. Unfortunately, due to varying schedules, attending court deprives officers of sleep. Oftentimes, officers who work the night shift may have four or five court appearances scheduled throughout the day, which leaves little time for sleep, much less family life or social activity. Traditionally, court schedules revolve around the hours set by each judge and the convenience of the offender. Although the APD has made several attempts to offer alternatives, the problems still persist. [5]

A growing concern exists over sleep problems related to shift work and the increased liability law enforcement agencies face. The Wellness Unit of the APD evaluated the impact of shift work on the sworn members of its department. Shift work can have varying effects on the environmental, familial, social, and work life of a police officer.

The Study

A private healthcare consulting firm, practicing primarily in integrated lifestyle management and pharmacology, designed and validated a sleep survey for the APD. Participant's answers were based on a Likert-type scale. [6] During the department's annual mandatory advanced training, the APD Wellness Unit administered the instrument to identify the incidence of sleep deprivation and how it affects its officers.

Of the 843 total sworn officers employed by the APD, the unit received a response rate of approximately 54 percent (459), which consisted of 409 male and 50 female officers ranging in rank from patrolman second class to deputy chief. All sworn members of APD work four 10-hour shifts with approximately 10 different starting times. Rather than rotating shifts, APD officers bid for a shift every 2 years, according to seniority.

Members of the Wellness Unit assigned officers to one of three categories based on the starting time of their shift. The three categories included officers who began their shifts between 6:30 a.m. and noon, 12:01 p.m. and 6 p.m., and 6:01 p.m. and midnight.

In addition to regular work hours, officers can sign up each month for contract duty for overtime pay. [7] Currently, APD's policy stipulates that officers cannot work more than 40 hours of overtime during a 2-week pay period. Therefore, in 1 week, an officer could work 40 regular hours, 40 hours of contract overtime, plus any regular overtime. However, tracking of the contract overtime has proven problematic for the APD. Because officers report overtime separately from their regular work hours, their immediate supervisors often find it difficult to accurately calculate the number of hours an officer actually worked during a pay period. The officer's immediate supervisor must approve any contract overtime and hand deliver an approval slip to the individual coordinating the contract overtime. However, at no time does the contract overtime interface with an officer's regular working hours. The contract overtime coordinator generates a monthly report of overtime used; however, this usually occurs after a superv isor can correct a problem. A recent review of the contract overtime report revealed that some officers work as much as 16 to 21 hours during a 24-hour period.

Findings Except for the questions involving demographics, officers answered each question based on their own perceptions. The consulting firm calculated the results with the findings from the sample with an error rate of plus or minus 5 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level.

Results indicated that fatigue proves prevalent among APD officers with night shift personnel suffering the most adverse effects followed by the officers working late afternoon and evenings. Contrary to literature on sleep deprivation, the results of this study showed the sex of the officer was not a factor. [8] Survey administrators instructed officers to consider questions that refer to "daytime" activities as whenever their "day" might be. Results showed mandatory and voluntary overtime hours worked by officers as the primary causes for fatigue.

Issues involving mandatory hours affecting officers centered around court schedules, with night shift officers primarily affected. Voluntary overtime work mainly involved contract overtime.

Results of the survey raised numerous concerns. First, numerous officers from each shift indicated that they have driven drowsy at some point--16 percent of night shift officers, 12 percent of swing shift, and 2 percent of day shift. Fourteen percent of night shift officers reported "very often" having trouble remembering, compared to 10 percent of swing shift and 5 percent of day shift. In addition, 11 percent of night shift officers reported "very often" dozing off during daytime activities, versus 2 percent of swing shift and 1 percent of day shift officers.

Night shift officers reported a greater degradation in their ability to easily handle minor irritation with 8 percent reporting their ability as poor compared to 1 percent of each of swing and day shift. This finding may prove relevant to other studies that have reported that officers who work more overtime hours have a greater number of complaints filed against them. [9]

Results also indicated that the effects of fatigue extend beyond the work environment to family and social life. Thirty-two percent of night shift officers rated their "ability to accomplish things" as fair to poor, compared to 19 percent of swing shift and 13 percent of day shift. Night shift officers also rated their "ability to enjoy family or social life" much worse than their peers working the swing or day shift. However, swing shift officers rated their relationship with their spouse or partner as poor more often than the other shifts. More notable, night shift officers rated themselves significantly lower in physical aspects. When asked "how healthy you feel," 10 percent of night shift officers responded poor, compared to 2 percent of day shift officers and none in the swing shift. In addition, 10 percent of night shift officers rated themselves poor in the area of how they feel physically, compared to 1 percent of swing shift officers and 2 percent of day shift officers.

Recommendations

Because of the negative effects of sleep deprivation over successive days and the greater liability for a police department and its city, managers must consider limiting the number of hours an officer can work within a 24-hour period and setting a maximum limit of hours per week.

Based on research conducted, police managers should consider generating a guideline that limits the number of hours an employee can work to 16 hours within a 24-hour period.

Further, managers should consider--

devising an overtime time sheet that officers must submit in conjunction with their regular time sheet to allow immediate supervisors to assess and handle excessive overtime before it becomes a problem;

* soliciting better cooperation from the district courts in devising better-suited court schedules for night shift officers;

* offering classes that guide officers on how to cope with shift work, recognize and understand the symptoms and effects of sleep deprivation, and avoid the problems associated with it;

* ensuring classes and other opportunities (e.g., training, firearms ranges, and physicals exams) are available to officers working the night shifts;

* allowing the department repair shops (e.g., automobile, radio) to remain open later to allow night shift officers access either before or after their shift;

* keeping all work areas freshly painted, clean, and bright, which can promote heightened alertness) better moods, and increased productivity;

* ensuring vending machines throughout the department offer an assortment of healthy products (e.g., juice and low-fat or natural snacks);

* increasing contact with night shift workers; and

* videotaping mandatory meetings to allow night and swing shift employees to view them on their regular shifts.

Conclusion

As with any law enforcement agency faced with providing 24-hour service, scheduling and working swing shifts remain commonplace. However, many mangers do not realize the hidden, potential problems associated with working these shifts.

Managers must recognize these risks and offer alternatives that can help employees become better acclimated to shift work. Additionally, to help their employees better cope with such assignments, they must help their personnel understand the causes, effects, and cures of sleep deprivation resulting from working these unnatural shifts. In doing so, police managers will ultimately provide a safer environment for their department employees and the public they serve.

Endnotes

(1.) M. Saborin, "Asleep at the Switch," Occupational Health and Safety (1998): 21-33.

(2.) W. Dement, "Catastrophic Sleep Episodes: Why Do They Happen?" (paper presented to the Senate Appropriations Committee on the Findings and Recommendations of the National Commission on Sleep Disorders Researchers, Washington, DC, November 1992).

(3.) J. J. Filcher, and A. Huffcutt, "Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Performance: A Meta-analysis," Sleep, no. 19 (4): 318-326.

(4.) For additional information of the effects of shift work, see M. Simpson and S. Richbell, "British Policing and the Ottawa Shift System: Easing the Stress of Rotating Shifts," FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, January 2000, 19-26.

(5.) For example, the APD suggested assigning a full-time officer to handle the court scheduling, tried to set a primary "court day" for its officers, and requested evening or Sunday court.

(6.) The Likert technique presents a set of attitude statements that asks subjects to express agreement or disagreement typically based on a five-point scale. Each degree of agreement is given a numerical value from one to five. Thus, a total numerical value can be calculated from all the responses.

(7.) Officers volunteer to work overtime for department contracts with local businesses, such as grocery stores, banks, and other retail stores.

(8.) G.A. Kerkhof, "Inter-individual Differences in the Human Circadian System: A Review," Biological Psycholgy, no. 20 (1985): 83-112; and Martin Moore-Ede, The 24-Hour Society (Reading, Massachusetts: Adison-Westley Publishing, 1993).

(9.) Brian Vila, Tired Cops: The Importance of Managing Police Fatigue (Washington, DC: Police Executive Research Forum, 2000).

Ms. Cochrane serves as a wellness coordinator for the Albuquerque, New Mexico, Police Department.

APD SLEEP SURVEY 1998-1999
How often do you experience the
following ...
                                         Very often  Sometimes
Feeling Drowsy when driving a car
Day Shift                                     2         43
Swing Shift                                  12         48
Graveyard                                    16         52
Department (collective)                       8         46
Dozing off during daytime activities
Day Shift                                     1         19
Swing Shift                                   2         20
Graveyard                                    11         30
Department (collective)                       4         22
Waking up in the morning feeling
refreshed, ready to go
Day Shift                                    25         47
Swing Shift                                  23         43
Graveyard                                    10         39
Department (collective)                      20         44
Having trouble remembering things
Day Shift                                     5
Swing Shift                                  10         41
Graveyard                                    14         34
Department (collective)                       9         36
                                                        38
Your ability to accomplish the things
you need to
Day Shift                                    16         70
Swing Shift                                  21         60
Graveyard                                    13         55
Department (collective)                      17         65
                                         Excellent     Good
How you feel physically
Day Shift                                    12         55
Swing Shift                                   8         70
Graveyard                                    10         51
Department (collective)                      11         58
Your general mood
Day Shift                                    16         67
Swing Shift                                  13         71
Graveyard                                     4         53
Department (collective)                      12         65
You ability to handle minor irritations
easily
Day Shift                                     9         67
Swing Shift                                  16         58
Graveyard                                    10         46
Department (collective)                      11         60
Your personal relationship with your
spouse or partner
Day Shift                                    27         75
Swing Shift                                  33         68
Graveyard                                    22         60
Department (collective)                      27         70
Your ability to concentrate during the
day
Day Shift                                    10         75
Swing Shift                                  12         68
Graveyard                                     5         60
Department (collective)                      10         70
                                         Not often  Never
Feeling Drowsy when driving a car
Day Shift                                   44       11
Swing Shift                                 35        6
Graveyard                                   28        5
Department (collective)                     38        8
Dozing off during daytime activities
Day Shift                                   47       32
Swing Shift                                 36       42
Graveyard                                   46       13
Department (collective)                     44       30
Waking up in the morning feeling
refreshed, ready to go
Day Shift                                   23        5
Swing Shift                                 31        4
Graveyard                                   40       11
Department (collective)                      3        6
Having trouble remembering things
Day Shift                                   41       12
Swing Shift                                 47        9
Graveyard                                   42        8
Department (collective)                     43       10
Your ability to accomplish the things
you need to
Day Shift                                   12        1
Swing Shift                                 19        0
Graveyard                                   30        2
Department (collective)                     18        1
                                           Fair     Poor
How you feel physically
Day Shift                                   30        2
Swing Shift                                 20        1
Graveyard                                   29       10
Department (collective)                     28        4
Your general mood
Day Shift                                   15        1
Swing Shift                                 13        2
Graveyard                                   37        6
Department (collective)                     20        3
You ability to handle minor irritations
easily
Day Shift                                   23        1
Swing Shift                                 25        1
Graveyard                                   36        8
Department (collective)                     27        3
Your personal relationship with your
spouse or partner
Day Shift                                   13        1
Swing Shift                                 17        2
Graveyard                                   30        5
Department (collective)                     18        2
Your ability to concentrate during the
day
Day Shift                                   13        1
Swing Shift                                 17        2
Graveyard                                   30        5
Department (collective)                     18        2
Day Shift N = 226
Swing Shift N = 113
Graveyard N = 120
Department (together) N = 459