NCJ Number
216488
Journal
Law Enforcement Technology Volume: 33 Issue: 11 Dated: November 2006 Pages: 34,36-38,40,41
Date Published
November 2006
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This article emphasizes the importance of adequate sleep for effective law enforcement officer performance and suggests how shift work can be structured to prevent sleep deprivation.
Abstract
Lack of sleep, which is probably the most common condition that adversely affects officer performance, is often ignored. An officer who has worked 17 to 19 hours has the reaction time of someone with a blood alcohol concentration of .05. When police officers are not allowed sufficient sleep, they can have physical and mental impairments that range from short-term memory loss to reduced reaction times. Shift workers, particularly those with irregular hours, are predisposed to sleep disorders. Steps that can be taken by law enforcement agencies are to monitor "moonlighting" hours. Some sleep deprivation on a rotating schedule is inevitable; however, exhaustion and side-effects can be minimized by using a logical progression from days to evenings to nights. This allows the body to have a more gradual adjustment to the changing hours of wakefulness and sleep. Also, 10- to 12-hour shifts followed by several days off allow officers time to readjust their body clocks. Some suggestions to individual officers in improving their sleep patterns are to avoid bright lights as much as possible when getting off work in the morning; avoid alcohol; once home, go directly to bed; sleep in a darkened room and use an eye mask; keep the bedroom slightly cool; block out noise by using earplugs; consult a physician before trying sleep aids such as melatonin; and perform regular exercise, but avoid it just before bed time.