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| When Clock Springs Forward, So Does the Risk for Injury |
One of the sure signs that spring is coming is the one-hour “springing forward” of clocks into daylight saving time, which takes place this coming Sunday (March 13, 2011).
While most people are happy to see the sun stay around for an extra hour, the downside of daylight saving time is that it temporarily throws people’s built-in body (circadian) clocks off, leading to an increased risk for injury in motor vehicle accidents and on the job.
Dr. Martin Moore-Ede, an expert in the role of human fatigue in accidents, says studies have shown there is about a 10 percent increase in highway accidents during the week after the moving ahead of clocks – and a corresponding 10 percent decrease in motor vehicle accidents when clocks move back an hour in October.
“It’s going to occur not only on the highway, but in any work activity that’s potentially hazardous – the sort of tasks where you have to pay attention,” he says. “It’s like a whole nation undergoing jet lag all at once.”
Moore-Ede says the adjustment may be more challenging once people reach middle age, when they tend to not sleep as well as when they were younger.
People who get up at the same time every day, including days off, will have a tougher time adjusting to the spring time change, while those who are used to working a variety of shifts may find it less noticeable.
Moore-Ede, founder and chief executive officer of Lexington, MA-based Circadian Technologies Inc., says most people are deprived of sleep to begin with, so losing an hour’s worth when clocks move into daylight saving time only increases their sleep debt.
Although trying to go to bed an hour earlier than normal on the night before clocks move ahead is a good plan, most people would find it difficult to drift off an hour sooner.
“It’s easier to sleep in. That’s why the (one hour) shift back in the fall isn’t so difficult,” says Moore-Ede.
He offers the following advice for people wanting to adjust as quickly as possible to a one-hour jump in time:
- Recognize it’s going to happen and prepare by going to bed a little earlier a day or two before the changeover.
- Avoid drinking too much coffee or alcohol at night, and keep the lights low or off, since bright light promotes wakefulness.
- Drinking an extra morning cup of coffee in the first few days after the time change might help increase alertness. Many people find an early-morning walk helps, too.
- Some people have the freedom to shift their working hours around. If you have that flexibility, arrange to come in an hour later and work an hour longer to make up the time, until your body adjusts to the time change.
- Some workplaces let their employees take a “power nap” during the shift. Moore-Ede says a nap can greatly boost alertness, but keep it short (10 to 20 minutes) or it’s likely to have the opposite effect.
Workers who drag themselves to work without enough sleep may unknowingly put their lives and the lives of their co-workers at risk. Whether the fatigue is caused by the switch to daylight savings time or by working shifts, Safety Smart has numerous Safety Talks, articles, puzzles, clip art and other tools you can use to share fatigue-busting tips with your workers.
Want to Try SafetySmart Online? Request a Free Demo |
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| Perhaps this guy is in the wrong segment of the entertainment business and should have become a circus acrobat! The thought of trading places with him has us shaking. Unbelievable. (Naval Safety Center) |
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| Hospital Workers Awarded Compensation for Breast Cancer |
Three women working at a British Columbia hospital have been awarded compensation by the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Tribunal (WCAT) for breast cancer found to be linked to their working conditions in a hospital laboratory.
Lab workers Katrina Hammer, Patricia Schmidt and Anne MacFarlane sought compensation after acquiring breast cancer. They claimed they had been exposed to cancer-causing agents from an incinerator, with the toxins being drawn into their working area through a roof air intake.
They were initially denied workers’ compensation by the BC Workers’ Compensation Board, but WCAT overturned that ruling, saying the workers had been exposed to carcinogens on the job.
The Fraser Valley Health Authority, which operates Mission Memorial Hospital, is petitioning the B.C. Supreme Court to set aside the appeals board decision, claiming that WCAT erred in its findings and that there was no positive evidence linking the workers’ breast cancers to their employment.
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