Breanna Laliberte

Biology 1616

10/20/2017

Occupational injuries related to sleepiness in Indian traditional industries

Introduction

Our health is affected by the amount of sleep we get, yet there is significant evidence showing

that those in the workforce do not get enough of it. Sleepiness/fatigue reduces performance

capability by things, such as reaction times, information processing and staying on task, all of

which could result in an accident.

The reason behind poor performance is due to the deactivation within our prefrontal cortices

which control functions like situational awareness and problem solving; the inferior temporal

cortices important for mental tasks; and the thalamus which controls general alertness and

attention.1

Those in the workplace that are not getting adequate sleep could see a slow deterioration in their

health, along with sleepiness during work which has been linked to accidents on the job, low

productivity and less job satisfaction. Sleep is therefore essential in an individual for both

themselves and their surroundings. Studies performed in certain countries revealed that the

above are major risk factors for the occurrence of occupational injuries among industrial

workers.2
According to Chau et al (2004), a worker who has slept poorly is subject to an injury more

than those who slept less than 6 hours. Lavie et al (1982) also reported that workers

complaining of excessive daytime sleepiness had the highest number of accidents (49.3%),

followed by frequent mid-sleep awakenings (42.9%) and difficulty falling asleep (34.8%).

A cross-sectional survey of small scale enterprises particularly of those employed at

manufacture plants (88%) was conducted due to the number of occupational injury occurrences

within Indias industry sectors. The study observed a workers daily amount of sleep, length of

time to fall asleep, frequency of awakening during sleep, early morning awakening, difficulty

waking up in the morning, sleeping well at night, sufficiency of sleep, and difficulty of breathing

while asleep.3 Socio-demographics, lifestyle, physical and psychological conditions were also

included as cofounding factors in both males and females, separately and combined.

Subjects and Methods

The information for this study was collected through self-rating questionnaires given from May

December 2008 at enterprises with 1-135 workers in two districts of Uttar Pradesh, India.

The first district, Varanasi, questionnaires were given at random to 585 workers of 21 factories

out of the total 28 factories with 895 workers. Unfortunately, only 519 questionnaires were filled

out due to several reasons: declined participation, lack of recruitment at the particular worksite,

or the worker had gone and retired.

At the second district, Mirzapur, questionnaires were distributed to all employees and employers

of 16 enterprises with 725 workers. A total of 401 workers responded.

Questionnaires included two tables, within the first table were topics of demographics, job title

and business type. The second table; occupational injury, sleep, symptoms of depression,

lifestyle factors, and presence of diseases.

Measurement Methods

The sleep portion was based on 8 questions regarding the workers sleep habits, developed by

Akinori et al (2005). In order to assess occupational injury, a yes or no question of whether or

not the worker had been injured during work within the past year, including cuts and scratches

was asked.

Depressive symptoms were evaluated using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression

(CES-D) Scale. In order to determine whether the worker had depression, a score was given for

each answered question, 16 being the cut-off to differentiate between a person with or without

depression.

Other covariates include age, gender, marital status, years of education, whether they had or

currently smoke, alcohol consumption, caffeine intake and presence of self-reported physical

and/or psychological diseases.

Results

A total of 264 workers responded that they had experienced an occupational injury within the

last year. 39% of these workers slept fewer than 6 hours, ~24% showed symptoms of insomnia,

and 16.4% reported poor sleep, while 46.9% reported insufficient sleep and 2.8% had trouble

breathing while asleep. 5

As for the CES-D scale, 38.6% showed signs of depression, averaging a score of 15.4.
Discussion

The study demonstrates that those with problems related to inadequate sleep, whether it be

because of the allotted time to sleep or symptoms directly affecting sleep, are moderately but

significantly associated with occupational injuries in small and medium scale enterprises.

Conclusions

Poor sleep defined as difficulty maintaining sleep, insomnia, and insufficient sleep are in fact

related to occupational injuries, which in the long run, can impact on-the-job safety and business

productivity. Suggested lunch breaks designated to a 15-20-minute nap could serve well in

reducing stress and preventing injury.

 Works Cited

1. Jaiswal, Ajeet. Occupational Injuries Related to Sleepiness in Indian Traditional

Industries.
biology1615.weebly.com/uploads/5/5/4/8/5548644/occupational_injuries_related_to_slee
piness.pdf
2. Aksertedt T, Fredlund P, Gillberg M, Jansson B. 2002. A prospective study of fatal
occupational accidents relationship to sleeping difficulties and occupational factors. J
Sleep Res 11: 69-71.
3. Jaiswal, Ajeet. Occupational Injuries Related to Sleepiness in Indian Traditional
Industries.
biology1615.weebly.com/uploads/5/5/4/8/5548644/occupational_injuries_related_to_slee
piness.pdf
4. Nearkasen C, Marie JM, Lahoucine B, Christian S, Jean-Louis D, Martine F, Regis J,
Alain S. 2002. Relationships between some individual characteristics and occupational
accidents in the construction industry; a case-control study. J Occup Health vol. 44(3):
131-139.