A Reminder to Sleep Like Lives Depend on It

Guest post by Lora Setter, LMCIT public safety program coordinator

I previously wrote about when my flight from Hartford, Conn. to Minneapolis was canceled. The pilots ran out of time. For pilots, running out of time means they’ve reached their 10-hour fly time limit. When two pilots are flying together, they can fly up to 10 hours. If flying solo, they are grounded at eight hours. Pilots’ hours are restricted because their job affects the safety of others. They need to be well-rested to safely perform their job duties, as people’s lives depend on them. 

Check In On Your Sleep Habits During Sleep Awareness Week

As National Sleep Awareness Week approaches this March, I am reminded why it’s important that public safety professionals – like pilots – get a chance to sleep and reset the clock each day: lives depend on it, both their own lives and the people served in our communities. 

Many public safety departments routinely schedule their personnel for 10- and 12-hour shifts. Personnel are allowed to work up to 16 hours before they run out of time. This is twice the number of hours that a solo pilot is allowed to work. Organizations use these extended shifts because they provide economic benefit, as more hours can be covered with fewer people. Many line-level people muscle through long shifts because they know at the end of their work cycle, they’ll enjoy a longer stretch of time off. When it comes to volunteer public safety services, there’s often no telling when the clock starts running. They respond when duty calls, often after or during their other responsibilities, like working full-time or providing childcare. This could mean showing up well-rested after a relaxing weekend or being jolted awake in the middle of the night after a hard day. 

Getting enough sleep is integral to maintaining positive mental health. Being fatigued creates opportunities for traumatic brain injuries, like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as well as other risks such as heart disease, cancer, depression, anxiety, etc. 

Tips for Better Sleep

We recognize that it’s important, but getting good sleep is easier said than done – especially after a hard shift and if daytime is your bedtime. Here are a few helpful tips for getting straight to sleep, sunup or sundown.

1. 
   Avoid caffeine three to four hours before you plan to sleep.
2. Don’t drive drowsy. If you need to, take a 15-minute power nap before heading home. 
3. If the sun is up, wear sunglasses on your commute to start winding down and prep for sleep.
4. As tempting as it might be to stay awake, go to bed as soon as you get home. 
5. Sunup or down, establish and stick to a bedtime routine to help put you in the mood for sleep. 
6. Put your phone in “Do Not Disturb” mode to avoid being distracted by texts, calls and emails.
7. Make your bedroom as dark as possible. You can wear an eye mask, turn on a white noise machine and keep the room cool to make sleep even more appealing. 
8. Let roommates or household members know that loud activities are off-limits during your strict sleeping hours. Wearing earplugs can also help drown out noise and promote a restful sleep.

Everyone Needs Rest

It’s important to remember that first responders aren’t super-human, they have the same biological needs for sleep as pilots and everyone else. With the work they do and the traumas they experience, it’s important that police officers and firefighters aren’t held in the trenches too long, for their own health and because lives depend on them.