By Anne Gagliano
Sleep deprivation is one of the most prevalent and pervasive issues that firefighters struggle with. Most firefighters work a 24-hour shift. At a certain point in the shift, say around 10:00 p.m., they may retire to their bunks and try to get some sleep. When the alarm triggers, a light comes on in the bunkroom along with a loud bell, thus visually and audibly rousing firefighters from sleep and jolting them into immediate action. Because of these impending triggers, firefighters have difficulty falling into restorative REM sleep while on shift. The problem can also be carried into home life, making it difficult for your firefighter to
ever fall into deep sleep, resulting in sleep deprivation, or chronic lack of sleep. Sleep deprivation is a serious issue and should not be ignored. Spouses of firefighters need to be aware of this issue and should do all in their power to help their loved one sleep while home.
ever fall into deep sleep, resulting in sleep deprivation, or chronic lack of sleep. Sleep deprivation is a serious issue and should not be ignored. Spouses of firefighters need to be aware of this issue and should do all in their power to help their loved one sleep while home.
I cannot stress the seriousness of this issue enough. Sleep deprivation has been linked to mental health problems, cancer, common colds, depression, diabetes, obesity, and strokes. It can affect job performance as it impairs reaction time, judgment, vision, short-term memory, information processing, motivation, and patience. These negative behaviors can affect home life as well, making your firefighter struggle to engage in family activities. Most critically, sleep deprivation is the best way to predispose oneself to becoming a stress casualty.
It has been scientifically proven that continual circadian rhythm disruption can lead to an absolute mental and physical breakdown. Circadian rhythm (which comes from the Latin
circa meaning “around” and
diem meaning “day”) is the body’s internal clock, which tells us when to sleep and when to wake. It is not meant to be constantly altered. Scientists first discovered the affects of circadian rhythm disruption, or sleep deprivation, during WWI. It was during this war that battles were, for the first time in the history of warfare, raged for 24-hour, nonstop periods. Until then, soldiers stopped fighting at night. In this new age of weaponry, soldiers could now see in the dark, and the stress casualty was first observed. By WWII, on the beaches of Normandy soldiers experienced continuous fighting for 60 days and nights; 98 percent of those soldiers became psychiatric casualties. In total, during WWII, American forces lost 504,000 men to psychiatric collapse, due primarily to sleep deprivation.
1
circa meaning “around” and
diem meaning “day”) is the body’s internal clock, which tells us when to sleep and when to wake. It is not meant to be constantly altered. Scientists first discovered the affects of circadian rhythm disruption, or sleep deprivation, during WWI. It was during this war that battles were, for the first time in the history of warfare, raged for 24-hour, nonstop periods. Until then, soldiers stopped fighting at night. In this new age of weaponry, soldiers could now see in the dark, and the stress casualty was first observed. By WWII, on the beaches of Normandy soldiers experienced continuous fighting for 60 days and nights; 98 percent of those soldiers became psychiatric casualties. In total, during WWII, American forces lost 504,000 men to psychiatric collapse, due primarily to sleep deprivation.
1
Research shows that you can die faster from lack of sleep than from lack of food. A study was done on rats and sleep deprivation at the University of Chicago in 1983. Rats kept from sleeping became sick and died after just two and a half weeks. Those who became sick but were allowed to sleep made a full recovery. Even fish need to sleep. Have you ever forgotten to feed your fish for awhile? Did they die? Probably not. Fish die more easily from overfeeding than underfeeding. Leave the light on, however, and your fish will die in just a few days.
Research on long-term human sleep deprivation is rare because it is
so dangerous that scientists will not keep subjects awake for more than 24 hours. They have found that after just 17 hours without sleep, people have critical thinking skills and reaction times that are as impaired as having a blood-alcohol level of .05 percent; after 24 hours without sleep, the impairment jumps to the equivalent of a .10 percent blood-alcohol level, which is the same as being legally drunk in the United States.
2
so dangerous that scientists will not keep subjects awake for more than 24 hours. They have found that after just 17 hours without sleep, people have critical thinking skills and reaction times that are as impaired as having a blood-alcohol level of .05 percent; after 24 hours without sleep, the impairment jumps to the equivalent of a .10 percent blood-alcohol level, which is the same as being legally drunk in the United States.
2
During sleep, our body is allowed to repair itself and our brain is allowed to process the day’s events. The body secretes hormones while sleeping that affect growth and metabolic and endocrine functions, thus allowing the body to better operate the next day. Simultaneously, the brain is given time to store, process, and reorganize information, allowing your psyche to function at full capacity the next day as well. Sleep plays a major role in helping our brain have better memory levels, retention, and the ability to learn new things. Have you ever noticed that you can go to bed after studying something, and you wake up in the morning
knowing the material? That’s because during sleep, your brain is allowed to actually
program the new data into your memory, just as if it were a computer. Without sleep, the brain is too busy functioning with wakefulness to process anything new into storage. That is how mental collapse occurs from sleep deprivation; your brain simply becomes too overloaded with incoming data to function properly.
knowing the material? That’s because during sleep, your brain is allowed to actually
program the new data into your memory, just as if it were a computer. Without sleep, the brain is too busy functioning with wakefulness to process anything new into storage. That is how mental collapse occurs from sleep deprivation; your brain simply becomes too overloaded with incoming data to function properly.
Enter in Sleep, sweet, restorative Sleep, “…Sleep that knits up the ravell’d sleave of care.” (Shakespeare’s MacBeth) Allowing the body a minimum of four to five hours of uninterrupted, core sleep will absolutely work wonders on the psyche. Seven to eight hours is considered optimum for a full capacity performance and for physical well-being. For the shift firefighter, a 20-minute nap can be effective, and a two-hour nap can be highly restorative. We spouses must help our firefighters to nap during the day when possible after a 24-hour shift and to sleep more soundly through the night by providing optimum sleep conditions.
In Part 2 of this column, I will share all the tricks of the trade I’ve learned over the years to help my firefighter not be “Sleepless in Seattle.”
REFERENCES
1. Grossman, Dave, Lt. Col., 2008 On Combat, 3rd Edition, Warrior Science Publications, USA.
2. Widmar, Robin, EMS, 2003 Sleep to Survive: How to Manage Sleep Deprivation.
BIO: Anne Gagliano has been married to Captain Mike Gagliano of the Seattle (WA) Fire Department for 25 years. She and her husband lecture together on building and maintaining a strong marriage.
