CDC WHRC: Make Wellness Your Business: Sleep Strategies for the Workforce

Hello. To all of you and welcome. To the CDC, workplace, health, Resource, Center's webinar, series make. Wellness, your business, sleep. Strategies, for, the workforce is today's, topic my. Name is dr. L Casey chose wood and I will serve as today's. Moderator, the. Purpose of today's call is to, discuss, how sleep affects you and your, workers personal. And professional well-being. We. Will discuss, the benefits of sleep the. Current challenges, around getting enough sleep and we'll, share some existing sleep, strategies, and show you how the CDC, workplace health Resource Center which, will also refer, to today as the W, HRC, is contributing. To this, critical, topic, especially when it comes to the safety health and well-being, of you. And your. Workers and now, I'd like to introduce today's, speakers, as I. Mentioned before I'm, dr. Casey chose Witt and I will serve as your moderator I am, the director, of the office for total worker health at the National, Institute, for Occupational, Safety, and Health and we're part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention our. Office, leads the total worker health program at NIOSH and total, worker health is defined as the programs practices and, policies that, improve, the safety and the quality of work for, workers while advancing, their overall, safety, health and well-being we're. Very concerned about safe, work about, healthier, work design, certainly. Things like sleep and stress and aging. And work and chronic diseases related to work are critical, focus areas, for us before. This role I served as the director of the Health & Safety for CDC's, own work force and I, was the medical director for CDC's. Three, occupational. Health clinics. Our. Presenters, today are two. Of the nation's top, experts. When it comes to the subject of sleep and its, impact, on our work and our well-being first. I'd like to introduce dr. Claire, Caruso, a colleague of mine at the National, Institute, for Occupational Safety and Health she's. A subject, matter expert on, shift work long, work hours and related. Workplace, sleeping fatigue issues. Her PhD from the University, of Michigan, focused, on the health and safety risks associated, with, shift work and long, work hours and the underlying sleep, and circadian rhythm, research that, provides evidence, for this topic Clare's also a registered, nurse which gives her additional personal, insights, into this issue, today. Regulatory, agencies labor. And industries, cite her publications, in their recommendations. And in, their position, statements, on working, hours she, entertained have developed, a number of online online, training.

Programs, For managers, and workers and these, programs offer the latest evidence-based. Recommendations. To, both present, and better, manage, the, demands, of long work hours and shift work, our. Next presenter will be dr. Michael. - Airy, Michael. Is the director, of the National, Center on Sleep Disorders research. At the. National Institutes of Health he. Has led sleep, and respiratory neurobiology. Research programs, at the, NIH s National, Heart Lung and Blood Institute since. 1966. And. He, became the director of the sleep center there in 2006. Dr.. Toire serves as a point of contact for the coordination, of federally, funded sleep activities, and a, wide array of scientific research. He, also administers, the sleep disorders research advisory, board which, is an important, federal advisory committee, representing. Both sleep disorders, patients, their, healthcare providers and, biomedical. Researchers, on needs and opportunities, around sleep research. Improving. Our understanding of how sleep disorders, and insufficient. Sleep pose a national, burden, to our physical and mental health this. Has certainly been a prime, direction, of particular, interest, to dr. Tori he. Chairs the sleep health working group in a focus area within. The nation's healthy people 2020, initiative that. Establish, national objectives, for specifically. Improving, sleep health. Well. Our agenda today is as follows, will. First, cover. Sleep. And the workplace in our agenda and within, this portion our presenters will discuss the benefits of sleep the, challenges, around inadequate. Sleep and then, provide some great resources, and strategies that employers, can put in place to. Address these challenges will. Then hear more about CDC's, workplace, health Resource Center and I'm, appreciative to them for inviting me here today to lead the webinar, after, that we'll learn some next steps you can take to learn more and intervene. In this important, answer and then. We'll move on to your questions, and answers, now. Here's a warning yet your pen and paper ready or. Your keyboard, and take some great notes today because, you're going to hear lots of pearls and ideas, strategies. That, are not necessarily, on the slides so be ready to write down the. Great information and recommendations, you're going to hear, now. I'd like to turn the presentation over, to dr. toir. Who will cover an overview on the benefits, of sleep dr.. Tori welcome. To the webinar. Thank. You Casey, most. Every metric, of workplace, performance, no matter how we look at it and ultimately business, success, is, vulnerable.

To Various, effects. Of sleep deficiency our. Productivity. Based on time, on task is limited, by, our ability to stay awake. Creativity. Intelligence. Motivation. Effort. Efficiency, our. Effectiveness. When working in groups, our emotional, stability and, sociability. Are all, diminished. By. Insufficient. Sleep duration. Your. Regular, sleep schedules, or, poor. Quality sleep. Optimal. Sleep health requires. Seven, to eight hours, in bed for. Adults it. Requires a regular. Sleep schedule timing. Is important, and good. Quality, sleep. But. Health surveillance, data worldwide, is, now indicating. That a large proportion of, adults and adolescents. Frequently. Do not get enough, sleep arrest, in the. Image that you see on the screen right now is a US map of insufficient. Sleep and it reveals that sleep deficiency is, affecting, twenty. To forty percent of adults in every. State. The legend of the map shows that states, that with. The lightest, color the, white shading. Are in. The that. 20%. To 30% range, and then, the progressive. Darker, colors a green show. Are, associated, with higher, rates. Of insufficient. Sleep among US. Adults. However. This. Map of sleepiness, is only showing, you the invisible threat. This issue of being awake, what. It is not showing is the impact, of chronic. Sleep deficiency, on our health and, this, is where scientists, and researchers, have made amazing. Breakthroughs, in just the last decade. Scientists. Have started to identify the nuts, and bolts of how. Sleep, and circadian biology. Are regulating. Gene, expression and, cell, function. In L most every single organ, whether it be the brain the, heart or the immune system, all. Of these systems are closely coupled, to, our sleep health, sleep. Deficiency, undermines. These functions, they, run inefficiently. And ultimately. Overtime, contributes. To the risk of many conditions, whether, it be the risk of catching a common cold, obesity. Diabetes heart, disease and, even, cancer. Bottom. Line sleep, the employees, are often, unproductive. Employees, and because. Sleep deficiency undermines. Their health it, undermines. Their health and many work-related. Behaviors, so the continuous lack, of sleep affects everyone. It, affects, health, safety. And performance, and, in the workplace sleep. Deficiency is, predicting, a lower work, rate slower. Completion. Of even basic, tasks. Insufficient. Sleep is both physically, and mentally. Harmful. So. One starting, point to improve, sleep health might be to take a look at your workplace and consider, is sleep deficiency sleep. Deprivation a. Characteristic. That is commonly, tolerated. Or perhaps, even. Reward, or encouraged, in your workplace is this. A a, systemic. Problem or. Practice. A. Second. Idea is 10, materials that you can obtain from CDC, and other sources be used to. Educate employees. About sleep health, the. Average, individual, may not understand. How what, the effects are and how to recognize, when sleep, deficiency, is affecting, them. Affecting. Their their contribution. In workplace, teams and their, interaction. With customers all. Of which are important, to sleep, in the workplace. The. Are individuals. Aware, that their performance is, fluctuating. Widely, from day to day in, some. Cases these ups and downs. Might. Reflect changes, in the amount of sleep this individuals, obtaining. Invite. Employees. To keep sleep Diaries might help individuals, recognize these, problems, and also. These sleep Diaries can be a useful starting point if the. Individual. Seeks. Consultation. Or wants to discuss their sleep problems, with, a physician the diarrhea, is, very. Very useful our human. Biology, is. Organized. Around sleep. And the. Bottom line from, the scientific, and is there is no immunity, or vaccination. To prevent, this. The effects, of these deficiencies. So. One difference, between sleep, and many other workplace, performance factors. Is that, the impact, of sleep deficiency is. Occurring. In the workplace, but. Also every, place between the workplace and home in, fact. Driving, to and from work a, very. Prevalent, and common problem, for in many settings is drowsy.

Driving. Individuals. Who are at risk of drys are driving it can take them out of their workforce at, least temporarily and, can. Interfere with, their own success. But. Sleep occurs at home it's not occurring in the workplace. Sleep. Disorder. Whether. It be insomnia. Sleep apnea they're all contributing. To the problem, of sleep deficiency. But. The effects, of if left, untreated, can. Impact, employee, productivity and. Performance, in, work. Encouraging. Employees to to. Being. Air, enabling. Employees. To. Recognize. These, problems and to seek, the assistance of, their physician, discuss. These symptoms with their physician, can, help minimize the effects, of sleep disorders. There's. Also another dimension. Which is a bit, less. Tangible, in some ways and that's the societal. Outcomes. Because. Sleep, affects, every, dimension. Of our, activities. Our interpersonal. Relationships. It, affects, how, we can, our. Relationships. With families, whose spouses, children. Well. How we behave, how adults. The parents behave and, also, impact, the outcomes, in the family, and also, affect, their risk balancing. This is another example we're, balancing, professional, and personal responsibilities. Is very. Very important. It's. Important, in the workplace it's. Important, in the family, and these. Two. Successes. In these two venues, will only, contribute. To the workplace, environment, it's. Important, with respect to interacting. With peers. We, all have a greater, depth, of behavioral, regulation and, reserve, when. We're well-rested and awake and of, course it affects our overall mood. And happiness. Now. I'd like, to turn the presentation, over, to Claire. Who, will discuss, emerging, technologies. That employers can consider implementing, Claire. Thank. You Michael, appreciate. This opportunity to just give you just a few of the many strategies, that. Managers. And workers can use to. Promote alertness. On-the-job sleep, health and all of the health benefits, the. First thing I'll talk about is naps these, are really an important. Countermeasure, to help relieve, sleepiness. Just. Falling asleep for, a few minutes, has a learning, affect, our, brains benefit, from this brief period of sleep not just a quiet. Time to recover from sleepiness, and to restore alertness one. Problem we have though is the cultural barriers in, the United States to using, naps at, work, some. Workplaces, have policies. That reprimand, people, for sleeping, on the job and workers. Have been fired, however. As managers. Began begin, to understand, the strong science, behind, the usefulness. Of naps this will probably change, there.

Is A lot of good science about. The, usefulness, of naps it's a healthy, method. To restore alertness. When, somebody's feeling very sleepy and. It's. Very, useful. So. Some, enlightened. Employers, are making use of naps during work breaks. How. So, there's a couple things I'll cover you, might think well how long should this nap be well, you could use both short naps with fifteen to thirty minutes. Or longer, naps, and it depends upon the situation for, instance if you're working in the daytime schedule, a brief nap like less than twenty minutes which could be useful you can set the alarm for. Fifteen. To thirty minutes. To wake up and this, brief nap will increase, alertness. For, several hours and, the. Other benefits. Is you'll, wake up with less grogginess, than, if you slept for a longer period and, the, other benefit, is that it doesn't disrupt, your sleep that, night because, you won't go your brain won't go into the deeper stages of sleep and, reduce. The build-up of sleep pressure. Longer. Naps now, and, a half or more can. Be useful during emergencies. When workers have to work long hours for example during snowstorms when, the next group, of workers can't come in or, there's a whole. Range of emergencies, that can happen and, these happen in a wide range of work settings, from police fire. To. Healthcare. But also to a variety of service, operations, such as heating and air conditioning technicians. So. You might think when, one's a good time to make take a nap well, what if someone is feeling very strong. Sense. Of sleepiness, when, they're at the job or when. They have to drive, or whatever a nap at that point could be useful and there. Are times during the day when we, can predict that what people may feel sleepiness, and this is during the night you know when we normally, are sleeping, and for. Those people that are working night shift they, may feel strong, periods, of sleepiness. Particularly. Between 2:00, a.m. and 5:00, to 6:00 a.m., the. Other time that we tend to feel sleepy is in the middle of the afternoon from, about 2:00 to 4:00 so. During those times it can nap. Can be useful. The. Other, tip I can give you is people, can combine. The benefits of both caffeine, and a short nap so. How that would work is, you would drink, some caffeine, and then. You would lay down and, take a short, nap the caffeine takes about 30 minutes to take effect and so, when you wake up from them that nap in about 30 minutes you'll get the alerting, benefits, from both then. You might think what kind of an environment is good for this for taking a nap or you want a safe place, a safe room close to the workplace. That's. Conducive that's, quiet dark, comfortable, and cool and, it, doesn't expose the. Workers to slamming, doors and other noises, and. If, you're using the short naps less than 30 minutes you can have provide, a reclining. Upholstered, chair with elevated, leg rests, but. For longer naps it's best to have a horizontal. Surface of bed because. It allows the brain to go into the deeper stages of sleep and. Reduce. The sleep pressure and, promote. Better recuperation. A. Couple. Cautions, beware. On awakening, people can feel a period, of grogginess and they, can have declines in a performance and mood during this time so, you want that to pass before you carry out critical. Critical, tasks, this. It depends upon the situation how, long this will last. If. Someone is sleep-deprived, it may last a while if. We're a very short nap it probably just lasts a few minutes 10 minutes it could last 30 to 60, minutes depending. It. Will this period, of grogginess will pass more quickly by taking some caffeine, being. In a brightly lit area, let's say outside or, washing, one's face face, the, other thing I want to point out is these naps are a temporary, aid for improving alertness, and it's not a replacement for, getting, a regular long period, of sleep at night. Next. I'll talk about indoor, lighting and there's, been a lot of study on lighting. It, has a big impact on our sleep our circadian rhythms, our alertness. And our sleepiness, and. In. Recent years they've found that the different colors of light have, differing impacts.

Blue, Light which is part of white light shifts. Arcadian rhythms the. Warmer, light like red, yellow. Orange have, much less effect on the circadian rhythms, so, some. Workplaces, can use this kind of information to design lighting, to, help people maintain alertness. Let's, say if they're working night shift, and. Help. Their bodies, get adjusted, to those work times. Some. Places for night shift have got set, up brightly, lit areas, where the workers can go in intermittently. Pretty. Much this is recommended. For the first half of the shift and then, for. Those the towards the end of the shift you move towards, the, lesser, lit areas, so then when they go home they can fall asleep. There. Are other strategies, being, used by companies we've heard through the news outlets of one company that, offered, their employees, money for. Sleeping so. If. For, the people who were sleeping seven or more hours a night they, for, twenty, days they offered a maximum, up up to five hundred dollars, a year now that company really. Understands. The importance, of sleep health for their. Their. Their, operation. Exercise. Improve sleep so some employers, are, said have sexercise, rooms, with exercise, equipment, and, exercise. Classes. One of the major problems. That the workplace can, help with is. Reducing. This widespread lack, of information, about sleep people. Don't get this information in, their schools their training programs, their healthcare visits for the most part and they, really need this basic, information to. Move. Them to, better, practices, at home and at work. So. This Resource Center provides a lot of links, for some great sources. That, managers, and workers can use to get this critical. Information about sleep, the. National, Institute, for Occupational, Safety, and Health has, several. Online training. Programs, that are tailored, specifically. For several, types of workers and managers and we're, developing more as time goes on, there. Are also resources, available. From the National, Safety Council Yero. Research. Transamerica. Center for Health Studies, and the Massachusetts. Department, of, Public Health. So. Besides. Educating. And promoting, that, managers. Can do a lot of other things you can promote a, workplace, culture, that respects, the need for people to be off work to get good quality sleep and recover from work, it's, critical, that managers, send these messages to their workers because. There are some conflicting messages. Out in our society. About, being. Productive. And. Advancing. In one's career and so forth that are actually counter, to, a good sleep health. For. Instance so, one, of my bosses several, layers up a few years ago posted a blog and, she. Was a great promoter of sleep health and then, if she said when it comes to our health sleep. Happens, can be just as important, as diet and exercise, but a third of us aren't getting enough sleep and this, is enormous, ly expensive. To our healthcare system, and our, nation's. Productivity. Managers. Can relay how they improve their sleep practice, and how much better they feel and how they've. Seen their ability to cope with the challenges at work, that. These have improved there's. Lots of other opportunities across, the year to give these messages, during the flu shot season. Managers. Can tell. Remind. The workers to make sure they get sleep, after, their shot for several days there's. There's, evidence, that when. People slept, better. After. They got the shot their.

Levels, Of antibody. Were, higher. The. Other times are, during. The spring you know we have that time change a couple weeks ago and in the fall we have another time change will that one hour change, in. The, time we have to get to work and, get up and go to sleep. Impacts. Some, people for up to a week and so. This is another time when we can remind, people. About. How to better. Adjust to these time changes, as well, as if that if I'm, doing fine I have to remember that the other people, around me being half maybe having trouble. Another, issue is on-call. Work. It's. Very difficult, to be on, call 24, hours a day and obtain. Good, sleep, health so. The workplace has to recognize, this, and. It's useful, to set, up the expectation. That when people leave the job they. Do not, need to be responding, to emails phone calls and so forth. Managers. Can tell their, employees this that during the meetings and they can model the pay behavior, they want seeing. Like they they, themselves will, not respond. To emails and so forth after. Their shift ends, now, we understand, this is real challenge, for global, global, operations, when your, customers, and co-workers, across, the globe are on a different time zone but. I think as managers. Understand. The. Difficulties, that this will cause for, workers. To try to respond, 24, hours a day seven, days a week or whatever and. The people are smart I think that they will create. Better. Ways of handling that. Job. Stress, leads. To insomnia, and other sleep problems, so that's another, issue that managers. Can work, towards. Reducing and, by. That. Would be by creating, a good psychological. Work environment, for. Instance people are treated with dignity and respect they're. Given resources, to, do. Their job they're recognized, for a job well done and so forth you, can. Look at your policies, and. These. Some of these may be, very relevant to sleep health for. Instance your shift links, you, can set up as consider, setting, limits on the length of the shift and overtime, and hours per week, you. Can look at see. If any policies, encourage, excessive, overtime and, if there are some you, can modify them you. Can explore. Flexible, scheduling. Options shorter. Shifts and telework, telework can, be, very helpful it saves time. That, they don't have to commute and groom, themselves to get ready for work. Next. Thing that could, be looked at is the, work schedules, themselves. The, design of the work schedules, it. Helps. To give workers, input. Into their schedule, because they'll likely. Consider. Their, own personal. Responsibilities. And capabilities. As. They provide their input, be. Cautious about using long hours per day. You. Have to remember that these extended. Hours for long exposures. To the workplace hazards, such as noise heat and so forth and by. That, extended. Hours that may be exceeding. The established. Permissible, exposure. Limits. Also. Think about the work that's being done is it feasible to, do that normal.

On Shift, I mean if work is very it, has very heavy physical demands, emotional, demands cognitive. Demands, and the. Pace of the work is fast that could be pretty difficult. Next. I'll talk a little bit about 24-hour. Operations. Just. Have a couple tips a lot more information is available on, our resource. With, the Resource Center. Think. About if you have 24-hour. Operation. Is, that nightshift. The tasks that you're trying to accomplish that, is it really necessary to, be done at night I keep. In mind that night shift is associated, with increased risk for errors injuries, and development. Of chronic illnesses, now. We, understand. That there are certain, types at work that we just cannot do without during, the night some. Manufacturing. Processes, for instance healthcare, police, fire, and so forth but. If if if, some, of the tasks are optional, consider, moving those to the daytime hours. For. Your permanent, or, for your night shift operations. Use the permanent night shift with caution some, people really just do it well and they like it but, most people have difficulty. Be. Sure to give people how to put time off each day at least 10 hours between shifts if, not 11, or more is much better. Next. I'll move on to some good sleep practices for, both employers. And managers. These, are, have. Been our, and there's a lot of support for that they used to help improve sleep and. It's. Important, to try it for, people to use. These to help, themselves so number, one create, a very, good sleep environment, you want to have a comfortable, mattress and pillows. If. You, haven't replaced these in a number, of years consider, doing that because they do get lumpy wear out and you'll, wake up with, aches and pains. The. Other thing is have it comfortably, cool. Very. Very dark and quietly. It. Helps to go to sleep and get up about the same times every day including your days off these. Consistent. Sleep, times help the brain understand. When. To. Be. Awake, and when, to be sleep. Get. Some exercise, every day people. Who report. The, best, sleep and. Exercise. Vigorously. But. Even walking. For. 15. Minutes or so can be helpful, look. At your caffeine, intake. Stop, that well before bed lunch time at least 5 hours beforehand, and think. About your own sensitivity. You may have to stop it well before that I. Set. A time to relax before bedtime about, an hour or more and, use this time to do only relaxing. Things so. Don't use, that time to plan. Your next exciting, vacation or. You. Know look at an action-packed, film, or whatever use, this time for relaxing, things lower, the light levels. Stop. Using the devices with. The backlit screens. Like our, computers. And our, tablets. And our phones. Those. Acts of brushing, one's teeth, getting. Dressed for bed it. Signals, to the brain that we're winding down now, and, we're getting ready, to fall asleep. Also. Take care of the variety, of things that can disturb, sleep if you've got a chronic illness, like. That, involves, pain or, respiratory symptoms. Like from asthma or nose irritation. Deal. With that so you don't have those symptoms during, the, sleep unfortunately. The way our body works is the, pain and respiratory system, symptoms, are more bothersome, at night, also. Dealing with noise from traffic, barking, dogs and so forth you. May have to use some sort soft, earplugs, and these are available in the pharmacies. All. These measures do improve sleep, if. If someone has consistent, problems, with sleeping, or feeling, sleepy during work they, should see their health care provider or sleep disorder, specialist, there's a lot of good. Options available to, improve, people's sleep and quality of life as I. Said this short presentation can. Only give you a few of the many strategies that, are available for. Workers, and managers, on the South sleep health topic, be, sure to check, the resources to get more information now. I'll turn the session back over to Casey Casey. Thank. You so much Claire and. Michael, as well I found, your comments, today very rich and practical, and very, very actionable, so I certainly, learned something, new from you guys every time I hear you speak now to, talk a little bit about the CDC workplace, health Resource Center. As. You may know the CDC has been involved in raising. Awareness of a number of critical public health issues, including that around sleep health and its connection, to work and worker safety health, and well-being and really.

With The goal of improving, the overall quality of the health of Americans, we. Want you to take a look if you haven't had a chance yet at the, website, for the CDC workplace, health Resource Center and for. Many it can be your first stop online, to help you launch or expand. A work, health place. Program. In your own environment. Certainly, the, site is filled with evidence-based, and credible. Resources, and it. Can really help employers tailor. Workplace. Health promotion goals, to meet their organization's. Needs a. Number. Of tools exist, on the website and here, you can see, that. There, are a variety of things available currently. The website has more than 300, resources. And that list is growing every single day I'll. Just reiterate that the website is completely free. And it, includes. A number of interesting, case studies, what, I might consider is very, important, real life examples, from organizations. Much like your own, including. Organizations. Of different, sizes with an emphasis on, solutions, that work in small and medium-sized businesses. There's. A section on emerging, issues such, as the focus of today's, webinar improving. Sleep quality to, address the health and safety of workers and there. Are a number of workplace help strategies. Available there, that can play really a significant. Role in keeping. Healthcare more affordable for, your organization. And for your workers the. W HRC, includes resources, to help small businesses as, I mentioned, design, workplace, health programs that are, at. Accessible. For, employers, as few as 12 or 25 workers, they're. Also on the site evidence-based, summaries, and issue briefs for, example there's a new issue brief just out now on total worker, health and I would invite you to take a look at at. The integrated, approach to health and safety that, the total worker health program espouses. You'll. Also find on the site a suite of webinars, and videos to, help organizations like your own who are really looking to start or improve a, workplace, health promotion program. On. This. Next slide you will see a snapshot of, the website, where visitors can search for these credible, resources, just by entering a few keywords in. The, search box on the upper right-hand corner, in this.

Example You see the search results after entering the key word sleep, now. If you find a resource that you think will be useful for you, simply. Select the resource and you'll be directed, to its, source. The. Website is continually, being updated so I invite you to check back regularly. It's. Also interesting, that you can help us rate the quality, of these resources, and we give you a 5-star rating system to do that to give feedback that. Not only helps, others, but, it will give us some feedback too about, the quality, and how people are perceiving the, quality, of the, products, that are offered through the Resource Center here. You see a new. Sleep. Brief, that, helps employees, and employers, address, this often very thorny, issue that we've been hearing about today. Now. To summarize, what we've been talking about today I just, want to leave you with a few things in the sleep summary here, clearly. Sleep, plays a critical, role in our safety, or health and our overall well-being while. Sleep is highly individualized, it is very, closely tied to, so many aspects, of worker well-being our energy. Level our attitudes, our working relationships. Our personal, relationships, with friends and family and co-workers our. Creativity, our, spark. If you will our happiness even our immune system that we heard from dr. Tory is strongly. Associated. Gated with a healthy, sleep hygiene and. In. My view it's much too important, to isolate, this issue that's something, that's. Only managed, in the personal domain or only viewed as a personal, responsibility, because. The workers. All. Report. To a workplace, with an employer who can have a tremendous. Role, in improving, sleep, opportunity. For for. Their workers and I would say have a responsibility. When they have. Such a strong voice in the schedules, that, people maintain. For their work so. For employers we, encourage. You to integrate sleep, into your health and well-being strategy. Into. Your safety programs, into, your training. And orientation programs. And. Also. Introduce it into your risk. Assessments. When you're talking, about risks, and exposures, that workers face, factor. In schedules. And shifts as an important, influence, on many, many health, safety, and well-being outcomes. Taylor. Street sleep. Strategies. By, using the resources that are available from. Some of the high quality places you've been hearing about today. You. Know we also believe that employers can assist and educate workers, around the topic, of sleep make. Sure you pay close attention to work demands, schedules. And deadlines make sure they're realistic and there's adequate staffing. For. Employees, we, want each and every one of you to create a manageable, sleep routine and, do all you can to stick with it, overall. We'd like to leave you with this message what. Happens, at. Work. Can. Strongly, influence our. Opportunities. For high quality sleep, so. Developing, sleep, centric, and worker centered, programs, around managing, and improving the quality of sleep are of, critical importance, if we want to improve the safety health, and well-being, of all our workers. Alright. So let's move on to a few next steps on. How you can stay connected and continue, to learn more about this, topic and others within, the, workplace health Resource Center, we. Invite you to stay connected with us on social media you can see LinkedIn so, book and Twitter options, here, certainly. Check back to the website of a wh RC to learn about new product updates upcoming. Events including, a discussion on mental health best, practices, that, will be offered very soon, upcoming. Soon also is a train-the-trainer webinar. Designed, to help navigate the. Center's many. Resources, and the website you. Can follow us as I mentioned on social media finally, if you would like to partner with us on an upcoming event, or, you have follow-up questions about. This webinar, other. Upcoming. Activities, or the, center please, email workplace. Helps, at CDC. Gov. Workplace. Health at CDC. Gov and someone, from the center will follow up with you. Here. On this next slide you can see a number of promotional. Opportunities. That are out there using. Materials, that have been developed, and can be shared via your own social media channels, if you, would like to access promotional, materials you can visit the website or, again email the, center at workplace, health at CDC, gov.

To. Move on to our question, and answer portion, of, the meeting and I'll invite Michael, and Claire, to join me back on the line again. To thank both of you for your wonderful presentation, I'll. Remind folks that you can enter your own questions, at this point still if you would like to do so and I. Will start off by really, just asking, Claire, a question, that we that, we know has come up and that. Is you know managers, oftentimes, ask what, are some of the ways that people, will. Behave, or will appear, when they're not getting enough good quality sleep so you, have some guidance, for supervisors. Or manager home really, ways I could help, out if they notice people, are struggling. This. Is Claire and. They. Can be looking for symptoms, and. Some, of the obvious ones would, be that the person is yawning, a bit has. Droopy, eyelids. Maybe. They're even involuntarily. Falling, asleep and, you can see them doing that at work they. May have a slow reaction, time that. Could have slurred speech. In. Fact there has been studies that have. Compared. People in the lab when. They, were, sleep-deprived, and they. Compared. Them when they had, alcohol and, they did write some similarities. People, can have a blank stare that's, caused by short, episodes, of sleep just a few seconds, long, they. Could have mental, signs such, as difficulty. Concentrating. Difficulty. Remembering. Emotional. Signs that could be more quiet or withdrawn than usual lack of energy motivation. Don't. Care attitude they. Can have inappropriate, emotions. Like they might giggle, and laugh in, serious situations. They. Can have problem. With their thinking you know they may fixate, on a solution, even though it's you, it's obviously, some. Other better alternatives. Are easily available. They. May have more. Risk-taking, behavior. They. And they and their risk assessment may, be poor. And. They. Must may misinterpret written. Or oral communication. So you can see there's a whole range of behaviors. That somebody may show when. They haven't gotten haven't. Been getting enough sleep. Great. Thank, you for that clear, um. We've. Got a question that's, come in and. It's, addressed, to Michael but I will start with Michael then see if Claire wants to add anything as well but the question Michael, is is, there any rule about snacking. Before going to bed does that seem to have any impact on sleeping, pattern, and. So in general the consumption, of food close, to or near the bed time period. So. So I think there's several dimensions, to that question, one of the reasons we snack.

In. General, is is, part of how we, achieve. Some, restore. Our emotional. Regulatory. Balance, we, eat we. We, sleep, these are all mechanisms. Of restoring. That mental, function, now. In terms of rules. There's. We, have science. And, the science, says that, consuming. Heavy. Carbohydrate. Loads and fats, at. The circadian. Inappropriate. Time of day is. Is, is, a problem, because our if. We're if our bodies are preparing, for sleep the, chemistry, the metabolism, of our body is not prepared, to, metabolize. Metabolize. Those. Incoming, calories, so, eating pizza. Eating. Pizza at night or chocolate. Cake or or, even, it may be healthier, snacks fruits, have many carbohydrates. And, so, the bottom line is research, is showing that this appears this, late, night snacking, or, eating, at the wrong time, of day, is does, contribute, to the risk of weight gain and. There are studies underway, right now to. Look. At to develop. Dietary. Recommendations. About you, know eating the correct when, to eat during the day. Great. Thanks, Michael clear, anything you'd want to share I. Guess. The other point, is that if. Somebody, is. Hungry. That. May. Make. It difficult for them to fall asleep or stay asleep so a very very light snack, is sometimes. Recommended. Like. A combination. Of, a little protein and, low, carbohydrate. No. This wouldn't be a big snack it would be a small one and. Also if. People are feeling hungry close to bedtime maybe, they should consider when they are eating maybe. They. Need to adjust the, times. When. They are eating their dinner and so forth. Great. Thank you both for that we, actually had a couple of questions that came in around the issue of eating and sleep so I think you did, a great job of addressing the other questions, on this topic as well we, oftentimes here too in, the medical profession about people who eat too late or too much near the bedtime will, get GE GI, symptoms, or, gastroesophageal. Reflux. Often times it can certainly impair. The duration. And, quality of sleep um. We've had a question come in about the resource center itself first. Of all is the Resource Center free it absolutely, is there are no costs associated. With. Use, of the Resource Center so, really, regardless, of the size of your budget the. Center is suited for your, business. Or your organization's. Opportunities. To build or expand a healthy workplace culture. And also. Folks ask about some of the criteria, for information. To be included, in the site well, there are a few standards. Obviously that CDC follows, before, posting, this to assure its quality, and credibility first, of all the information that a featured has to be published within the last ten years so that it's up to date it, has to be available and accessible to, the public free, of cost, without a registration. Required, to reach those resources. That we link to the, resource has to be US based currently. And it, also has to be relevant to workplace health, and factually. Accurate, with. Appropriate, citations. And an evidence base and all. Of the sites are vetted, before becoming. Part. Of the resource center by, a peer, panel, of experts. In the field so, gives, you some information about how items, are chosen for inclusion, as a resource. In the workplace Center well. Let's, get back, to. A question, about sleep, and this one specifically. Claire, is about, policy. Language around, naps, and, there. May be some examples out there. Is. There a source you're aware of where a policy language, around naps exists, if.

Not It might be something that we could follow up with more information on the website later. Yeah. NIOSH. Training, for nurses on shift work and long work hours it's a online training, program, that. We developed, and released a couple years ago it has a whole, module on naps now. And, at it. It. Doesn't give you a specific language, but it does tell you what. Things to consider, when you're developing. You. Want to use naps in the workplace so you might want to for instance. Consider. How. You're going to time the naps how, you're going to schedule, people for the naps now. You're you know you're going to have enough staffing, to, recover the workload, when people are napping. You're, going to have someone, wake them up you. Have them using alarm and if they don't didn't, return to the worksite, in appropriate, time have someone to check on them so, the I'd. Like to refer you to that NIOSH, training, for nurses that, module, seven on naps, an, important. Countermeasure. Fatigue. Great. Thank, you for that there, is another question here that I will pose to you first Michael and then we'll see if Claire has anything to add and that really is about this connection between. Blood. Circulation. And. Sleep, patterns and getting, good quality sleep certainly, we. Know that a number of chronic conditions, can impact, sleep, and the, lack of high-quality and, good sleep can, predispose. To, certain chronic. Conditions. So if I could just ask for a few, thoughts about this connection, between sleep, and chronic. Disease and. We'll start with you Michael. Okay. So, so when we don't have a regular sleep schedule either. Sleep. Insufficient. Sleep duration, irregular. Timing, asleep or poor quality sleep all of these conditions are associated with. Abnormalities. In our autonomic nervous, system, this, is the part of our nervous system, that is that. Is coupled. To. Mediating. How we how, we deal, with stress. Stress. Hormones, are secreted, hormones are secreted at, the wrong time and this, type of response, over if, sustained, if this is a chronic, condition a, chronic. Exposure, it. Appears, to contribute to cardiovascular, disease, risk. Great. Thank, you for that yes stress is oftentimes this sort of central mediator, for so many of the poor health outcomes associated with. You. Know challenging, work schedules, and and heavy. Work demands Claire anything you want to add to this connection. Between sleep, and work, chronic disease yeah. There is a lot that, could be said about it I guess one thing I'd like to do is again refer people to the NIOSH training for nurses on ship work on long work hours. Module. 3 covers. The risks. When. People. Work these schedules but also those risks, also. Relate to people, who don't have adequate sleep, because, with, the.

Theory Is that these work schedules, to forkin long work hours impact. Health and safety by disturbing sleeps, arcadian rhythms and family and social life so, it's a it's like the. Common thread would be the disruption, to sleep and circadian rhythms. But. You can also. Brief. Thing that I could add is that. When. We're. Laying sleeping. It, gives. A heart arrest are, to. Some extent our, blood. Pressure goes. Down heart. Rate goes down and. All. Of that you. Know you can you can think would be beneficial, but. Then again I'd like to refer people to, module. 3 of the nurse training because it is it can go into more depth on. On. The various chronic, health problems that can result from not, getting. Adequate sleep. Great. Thank you for that Claire you know having seen that training. Module it's just really very, very rich with a lot of actionable. Recommendations. And. The, other thing even though it's developed for nurses it really is applicable to a wide number, of workplace, settings so I echo. That encouragement, for folks to check out we. Had a question come in around this issue of sleep and belly, fat or obesity and certainly there's, strong evidence base for the, lack of good quality sleep and. Obesity, for, shift. Work that's so common in so many industries, and occupations today, and its association, with obesity. I'll. Ask, you Michael any thoughts about this sort. Of connection, between poor. Quality sleep or poor duration. Of sleep and obesity. Right. So get connected to abnormalities. Uh, in, our appetite, control abnormalities. In our anabolic hormones, there, is a there, is a science. Has now established a. A mechanistic. A causal, pathway, between. Sleep. Deficiency, irregular. Sleep schedules, or poor. Quality sleep and weight. Gain but. I want to be careful about label. The label of belly fat because, there. Are genetic. And, other. Factors. That can. Influence where. Fat, is deposited. In some, places may, be associated, with, particular. Health risk compared to other sites, so, the fact that it is, exterior. To the the, belly fat that we often see hanging, over, hanging. Outside the body, versus. Fat that is clinging to organs, and then, there's fat that may be. Intercalated. Into, the muscle, structure, that can weaken muscle. Neurotransmission. These, are all have different medical significance, and so someone, who's concerned, about this they, have you, know they have a regular, pattern, of of they. Feel they're chronically, that sleep deprivation or. Insufficient. Sleep is a daily. Burden i'd encourage them, to you. Know seek. The advice.

How, Does this information, how, does these symptoms, how. Are they important, for them as an individual. Great. Thank, you for that doctor to airy um certainly, we know that shift. Work long. Associated, with a high risk for certain chronic diseases including, obesity, diabetes, even, severity, of stroke and shift workers has been shown so where, there clearly, seems to be some connection between a, number, of chronic disease receptors, and their. Association. With. Sleep. Disruption, and poor duration. And quality of sleep we. Have a question here really asking, about how a company. Specifically. Their what their wellness, program, leader can go about getting advice on implementing. A high quality sleep. Health program, in their setting and thank, you for that it's an opportunity for us to refer you back to some resources that are, available both at NIH, and the. National Institute, for Occupational Safety and Health and I that, are our. Speakers both represent, those organizations. I'll also refer you to, the. Workplace health resource center is a very credible place for additional, information as well, I mentioned. Some of the resources, that are industry. And organization. Specific, on the NIOSH website, really, apply, broadly, to all workers, more. Generally, um. We have fun just, perhaps time for a couple more questions and, Michael, one, that has come in before. Really, is it's, fairly general, and it's talking about how employers, can sort, of approach this issue of sleep hygiene or, helping employees, manage. Sleep, habits when, they are off the clock or not at work and and this it really gets to the, last question as well so what. Advice would you have for employers, who are wanting, to help their employees manage. Sleep habits. Casey. I think that there's a an, immense, opportunity, to. Fill the, you, know the basically a knowledge, vacuum, out there there's. A lot of things that people can see you know one-off. Observations. And reports, and in the media, but. But the reality, is is that the average person. Is. Not yet aware, are. Familiar. With the you know how sleep. Deficiency, is affecting, them so there's, there's, a lot of materials. On. The CDC website there's, material, on the, NIH, website to. Help close, this information. Gap this is a this, is a very low level just. Just providing, information. Connecting. That information. With. Perhaps, with the discussion, of the, the barriers, and challenges to. You know that the company observes, in the workplace. Problems. That in. Terms of whether it be performance. And production, or whether, it be customer, service, or the. Teamwork you know is sleep, a you. Know in spring, the question up is a formal. Education. And providing. Leadership in. These. Areas, it's. One place to get started it's very low hanging fruit, and and. We would certainly encourage. Anyone, who, feels that insufficient. Sleep is. A regular. Daily problem, for them please. And you, know can they be in you know have, the option, the encouragement. To you. Know obtain, that medical, consultation. If they have a sleep disorder it can be treated. Great. Thanks, and in many ways that was a wonderful summary, for. Us to end our day together today, Claire I'll give you one more opportunity if, there's any final remarks you'd like to make to our, panel. And our attendees, today, yeah. I think one. Thing about the sleep topic, is if, people, haven't been getting. Enough sleep once, they do they, I don't believe they'll want to go back to their previous life it makes such a big difference in, the, quality of your life how you feel, how. Your health is it's. Really, a journey, that is well worth it and there's. A lot of great resources, to help people start, that journey thank you great. Again. My thanks to all of you and the people at the workplace health Resource Center for inviting me to be your moderator today this. Is all the time we have for thanks.

Again To dr. Michael Terry and dr. Claire Caruso, and on behalf of the CDC workplace health resource center and the NIOSH office, for total worker health i'm dr., casey chose wood stay safe and well and hey guys get some sleep. Good. Day.

2018-07-04 22:27

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