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Does Your Character Work in One of These Professions?
If you write for a procedural, the answer is unequivocally “yes.” According to the CDC, these are some of the professions with the most sleep deprived workforce. The percentages denote the ratio of workers reporting less than the recommended 7 hours of sleep per night.
In fact, about one-third of American adults (85 million) report sleeping less than 7 hours per night on average. The consequences are much more severe than falling asleep at one’s desk. People who get less than 7 hours of sleep per night on a regular basis are at-risk for:
- Obesity
- Diabetes
- High blood pressure
- Coronary heart disease
- Strokes
- Anxiety
- Memory Loss
- Depression
- Frequent accidents
- Dementia/Alzheimer’s
- Suicidal ideation
Drowsy driving is responsible for over 100,000 crashes, 71,000 injuries, and 6,400 deaths in the U.S. each year.
Sleep Equity
Look closer at the jobs in the graphic above They are overwhelmingly blue-collar jobs. So it follows that sleep disparities disproportionately affect people with low incomes, as well as people from BIPOC, LGBTQ+, disabled and other minoritized communities. Adding injury to injury, essentially.
Sometimes It’s Not the Job That’s Keeping You From Getting Health Shut-Eye
If it’s not the occupation, it could be an untreated sleep disorder such as narcolepsy, sleep apnea, restless legs syndrome, Idiopathic hypersomnia or insomnia.
Sleep Disorders Fly Under the Radar
- 50-70 million Americans are affected by a chronic sleep disorder, yet the majority of these individuals are without accurate diagnosis or treatment.
- Many people’s concerns about their sleep are written off as a symptom of stress leading to misdiagnosis or outright dismissal of the issue.
- As a result, millions of Americans wait 10 years or more to receive a proper diagnosis of a sleep disorder.
- Untreated sleep disorders can be linked to an increased risk for accidents, anxiety, memory issues, obesity, high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, depression, and strokes.
- Many children are referred to behavioral programs when they should be referred to a sleep specialist.
- Sleep disorders cannot be mitigated by sleep tips and need to be addressed by a sleep specialist. Treatment options are available.
The Effects on Mental Health
- Poor sleep health can lead to depression, anxiety disorders, memory problems, dementia, and even Alzheimer’s.
- It’s also associated with a three-fold increase in suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, and death by suicide in both adolescents and adults.
- Adolescents with undiagnosed sleep disorders exhibited a more than three-fold increase in the likelihood of experiencing suicidal ideation compared to peers without sleep disorders.
Unlocking the Mystery for Everyone (Including Doctors)
- Accurate depictions of the consequences of poor sleep health and sleep disorders matter because most Americans (including medical professionals) aren’t familiar with even the basic signs of sleep disorders.
- In the many years of study all doctors must endure, they receive, on average, less than two hours of education on sleep health and sleep disorders. (Especially troubling since they aren’t getting enough sleep, either!)
- This lack of awareness contributes to delays in accurate diagnoses lasting years or even decades, leaving people with sleep disorders without access to care and treatment, and putting them at greater risk of safety concerns and costly, serious comorbidities.
Learn more about Sleep Disorders at Project-Sleep.com!