For Young Adults Less Sleep Means More Risk While Working And Driving

Sleep-related risks in young adults are more complex than previously thought. Overlapping sleep problems can potentially increase the chances of accidents on the road and at work. Insufficient sleep is the leading cause of road and workplace accidents in young drivers; however, newly released results, as part of the Raine Study, have found sleep disorders and shift work to also be strong influencers in young adults.  The study assessed 439 young Australian adults aged 22, for common sleep disorders such as insomnia, obstructive sleep apnea, and restless legs syndrome. Information on shift work, sleep habits, and road and workplace incidents was also collected. These factors have been largely overlooked in road safety studies of young adults, “Within our study cohort, 16% reported falling asleep behind the wheel, 23% had at least one near-miss road accident due to sleepiness, and insufficient sleep was linked to more than double the odds of falling asleep while driving. “We also found that the presence of all three sleep-disrupting factors, including sleep disorders, insufficient sleep, and shift work, had a greater effect on sleepiness-related near-miss road incidents than any of the individual sleep-disrupting factors alone. The many interlinked facets of human health, from understanding the genome and its variable expression, to disease surveillance, health data linkage, mental health, and navigating life’s milestones

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