By Honor Hawkins

A friend of mine, a medical resident at a local hospital, has been working 80-hour weeks for almost a year. Many of these involve 24-30 hour shifts and quick naps in the call room. His wife says he is “exhausted all the time, and way grumpier than he used to be.” Turns out his grueling schedule hurts more than just his disposition and marital bliss; it could be risking his life.

A new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine reports that doctors who work an extended shift (more than 24 consecutive hours) double their chances of getting in a car accident. For each extended shift worked per month, the risk of crashes increases over 9%.

Groggy doctors pose dangers to patients, too. The National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine, blames fatigue for “substantial numbers” of the nearly 100,000 annual patient deaths due to medical error.

Doctors, airlines workers, truck drivers and nuclear plant operators all work in safety-sensitive occupations for which sufficient, restorative sleep is critical and industry- regulated (although many experts wonder if current stipulations suffice). For many of us, the risks of sleep deprivation aren’t as dramatic, but they shouldn’t be dismissed.

Next time you opt to stay up for the last guest on The Late Show, remember that sleep deprivation has physiological and emotional consequences. Tim Lutz, a registered polysomnographic technologist (an individual trained to measure brain activity during a sleep study) at The Roper Hospital Sleep-Wake Disorders Center, says these may include deterioration in memory and judgment, early morning confusion, headaches, nausea, personality changes involving sudden bursts of inappropriate behavior, irritability, jealousy, suspicion, anxiety and depression.

“Bottom line, when you’re sleep deprived, you’re less able to concentrate and your ability to perform suffers,” he says.

If you think you’re immune to the effects of sleep deprivation or pride yourself on being a superhero who needs only five hours of sleep, think again. “As a society, Americans are chronically ‘under-slept,’” says Lutz, who’s been seeing patients at the Center for 20 years. “People who only need five to six hours are very rare.”

According to Lutz, most Americans sleep about seven hours a night, an hour short of the typically required eight (if you need more, you’re called a “long-sleeper,” and that’s normal, too). Over the course of a week, this sleep debt accumulates, exacerbating deprivation’s side effects. Making up for it by unplugging the alarm on the weekends is an option, but puts you at risk for the dreaded Sunday night insomnia, which sets you up for a groggy week.

If you’re sleepy during the day, you are probably sleep deprived. Ditto if you fall asleep when you don’t intend to, like at a movie, meeting or at your desk after lunch. Lutz recommends taking a quick but accurate test called the Epworth Sleepiness Scale to assess fatigue (find one at www.sleepfoundation.org/epworth/quiz.cfm).

If you’d like to improve the quality of your sleep along with the quantity, here are a few tips from the Roper Sleep-Wake Disorders Center.

– Set up a relaxing bedtime routine such as reading a book or watching TV.

– Go to bed when you’re sleepy. If you’re unable to sleep after 15 to 20 minutes, get up and do something else. When you feel sleepy, go back to bed. Avoid watching the clock.

– Avoid worrying, thinking or planning in bed. Such mental activity makes sleeping difficult. It may help to write down your problems before going to bed.

– Maintain a regular bedtime and rise time even on weekends.

– If you nap, keep it to 20 to 30 minutes per day. Nap no later than 3 p.m.

– Set up a good sleeping environment: use the bed only for sleeping; control noise with ear plugs, white noise, relaxing music or heavy curtains; keep room dark and cool; sleep on a good mattress with comfortable pillows.

– Exercise daily. Exercise in the late afternoon helps promote deeper sleep. Exercise raises the body temperature and is associated with a drop in body temperature about five to six hours later, which helps prompt sleep. Avoid exercising too close to bedtime.

– Consume less or avoid caffeine and nicotine—they have alerting effects.

– Alcohol can make you fall asleep faster, but can cause you to wake up more often during the night. Limit consumption and avoid for several hours before bedtime.

If you routinely send e-mails at midnight to impress your boss, remember that adequate sleep promotes performance, concentration and cognitive abilities. An extra hour of sleep might be a more productive use of your time.

If you find that poor sleep quality is impacting your life no matter what you try, you may have a sleep disorder. Sleep disorders are often treatable, so call your doctor or a sleep lab.

Sweet dreams!

Honor Hawkins is a freelance writer based in Charleston.

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