Dr. Nick Mabbott
The Science of Sleep Director, Beyond Midnight Consulting
A raft of work has been done regarding the reduction of fatigue risk. However, a portion of fatigue risk is brought into the workplace by employees who don’t fully understand sleep and its nuances. Good sleep is the cornerstone of fatigue management as it allows employees to reduce fatigue risk prior to arriving for work. Fundamental to this is to have the workforce educated on all aspects of sleep. This includes: What healthy sleep is, how to target the correct amount, how to pay back sleep debts, addressing sleep disorders, developing a healthy attitude toward sleep, understanding health and wellness implications of sleep, and implementing controls when fatigued.
This presentation provides the understanding of the processes that occur within the brain when we sleep. It follows with discussion around different stages and cycles of sleep and how each of these stages add to, or take away from, our safety, health, wellness and productivity. Using the above information, the author has seen first-hand, the differences in people after applying better sleep management practices. There have been improvements in physical and mental health, productivity and safety. Healthy sleep provides a great opportunity to be the “best version of yourself”.
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