Emergency Medical Minute Podcast # 328: Sleep Deprivation
May 11, 2018
05:42
Author: Sam Killian, MD
Educational Pearls:
- Insufficient sleep and disrupted circadian rhythms are a major health problem today
- Millions of dollars, thousands of deaths, and millions of injuries are related to sleep deprivation every year
- 56 billion dollars - 24,000 deaths - 2.5 million disabiling injuries related to a sleep-type deprivation
- Exxon valdez, challanger, chyrnobel linked to sleep deprivation- at least partially
- Data has shown that in the Spring (when people lose an hour of sleep) there were 8% more traffic accidents on the Monday immediately after daylight savings. Conversely, in the Fall (when people gain an hour of sleep), there were 8% fewer traffic accidents on the Monday immediately after daylight savings.
- Studies have also shown an increased risk of myocardial infarction in Spring immediately after daylight savings, and a decreased risk of myocardial infarction in the Fall immediately after daylight savings.
References:
Corren S. Traffic Accidents and Daylight Saving Time. New England Journal of Medicine. 1996;335(5):355-357. doi:10.1056/nejm199608013350517
Janszky I, Ljung R. Shifts to and from Daylight Saving Time and Incidence of Myocardial Infarction. New England Journal of Medicine. 2008;359(18):1966-1968. doi:10.1056/nejmc0807104.