McKenzie Caine

Bio 1615
Article Summary

Introduction
During this experiment, researchers went to several different
manufacturing factories in India where they were researching the effects of
sleepiness and the correlation it has to work-related injuries. They decided to
work with companies of various sizes including; small, medium, and large
manufacturing companies. The researchers wanted to determine what other
factors would be a cause for work-related injuries. They wanted to know if
things like, time of shifts, age, work conditions, and also the types of sleep
problems that workers were experiencing were all tied in somehow.
The researchers found that sleepiness/fatigue reduces performance
capability induced by slow information processing, increased period of nonresponding or delayed responding during attention-based tasks, increased
reaction times, reduced vigilance, reduced accuracy of short-term memory,
and accelerated decrements in performance with time on-task (Dr. Ajeet
Jaiswal, 2012).
These things, if combined and even alone, can be a cause for a
decrease in work performance and can also increase the potential for
accidents in the workplace that could potentially cause bodily harm. This can
cause a safety risk for workers that may or may not be involved. It can also

have a long term effect on the individuals health to those involved in an

accident. Their main goal was to see what type of sleeping problems were a
cause for the most workplace accidents.
The main questions they were asking were, Do you have a good sleep
refreshing you for your daily work? Are we alert enough to be productive
(Dr. Ajeet Jaiswal, 2012)? There are many things indicating that workers, and
actually people in general, are not getting good enough rest especially
before working hours.
Subjects, Methods, and Measurement Methods
The researchers collected their data between the months of May and
December. The way they conducted their research was through a self-rated
questionnaire that they then evaluated.
There were two different working districts that were evaluated that
consisted of 21 factories and 16 enterprises that included small enterprises,
medium enterprises, and large enterprises.
A total of 920 workers responded to the questionnaire, having a
70.23% response rate for the total number of questionnaires handed out.
The questionnaire was made up of 8 questions related to sleep habits and
additional questionnaires were used for signs of depression, and work related
injuries.

There were questions based off of gender, age, marital status, smoking
and alcohol habits, etc. to further evaluate the causes of work related
injuries to sleepiness. The results were grouped by men and women because
of the different physiology of men and women. Questions based off of types
of sleeping disorders such as insomnia or having a hard time waking up in
the morning were included as well.
Results
A total of 264 workers responded that they had experienced work
related injury during the last year. 70.7% reported that they struggled with
sleep in one form or another. Although many showed that they struggled
with sleep, there was not much of a correlation between things such as,
having a hard time waking up in the morning and work related injuries. It
also showed no association between sleep apnea and occupational injuries.
Although, they did find that many occupational injuries are caused by other
sleep issues. Other factors like age and gender were a big factor in whether
or not they had been involved in a work related injury.
Discussion
The results showed a strong correlation of sleepiness and occupational
injuries. The article states that rest is essential to being productive and
keeping safe in the work place. The more we struggle with sleeping disorders
as well as sleepiness, the more of a chance we have at being injured during
work. It is recommended that we get a good amount of sleep and talk with a

doctor about any sleeping disorders we may be working with so that we can
be safe during our daily activities but most importantly, during work.

Works Cited
Occupational Injuries related to Sleepiness in Indian Traditional Industries, Dr.
Ajeet Jaiswal, 2012.