Insomnia Major Factor in Workplace Accidents, Study Finds
Everyone knows that insomnia can be detrimental to a person's health and relationships, but did you know how dangerous it can be to your health at work? A new study finds that many workplace accidents are actually caused a lack of sleep, or insomnia. Many automobile accidents throughout the country are also caused by sleep deprivation say a Los Angeles car accident lawyer. Some of the injuries that are caused by insufficient sleep are quite serious and can affect the rest of your health. In fact, insufficient sleep can wreak havoc on your person life as well, as many studies find that it makes you more irritable, grumpy and more likely to fight with your spouse, children and immediate family.
The new research, which was based on the stories of more than 10,000 employees across the country, said that their insomnia or sleep deprivation contributed to more than 274,000 injuries and accidents each year. One of the major problems with these accidents, aside from the injuries and hurts they cause, is the amount of money they cost companies. According to the results, these injuries cost the economy about $31 billion last year alone.
The study was conducted between 2008 and 2009 when a group of researchers decided to attempt to address the growing number of accidents that took place at work. According to the 10,000 particpants, nearly 20% had suffered from a lack of sleep or insomnia over that year due to everything from job-related stress to uncomfortable beds. Of those 20%, more than 5% had injured themselves at work because of being tired from lack of sleep. These workplace accidents are becoming more and more prevalent say personal injury lawyers.
When the researchers averaged out the total costs related to these accidents, they found that the average cost was about $500. In comparison, they surveyed other employees who did not suffer from lack of sleep and found that only about 4% made errors that caused injuries.
Some of the more serious accidents happened at factory plants on the assembly lines when a worker was not paying attention and got injured, causing the line to shut down while everything was cleaned up. Work-related car accidents were the second biggest cause of injury and general mistakes were in third place.
Ultimately, the researchers believe that insomnia and sleep deprivation are the root cause of more than 7% of the total number of work-related injuries and other errors that can cost a company a large amount of money. Of the total number of workplace accidents that occur in this country, about a quarter of them are linked to sleep deprivation.
The new research, which was based on the stories of more than 10,000 employees across the country, said that their insomnia or sleep deprivation contributed to more than 274,000 injuries and accidents each year. One of the major problems with these accidents, aside from the injuries and hurts they cause, is the amount of money they cost companies. According to the results, these injuries cost the economy about $31 billion last year alone.
The study was conducted between 2008 and 2009 when a group of researchers decided to attempt to address the growing number of accidents that took place at work. According to the 10,000 particpants, nearly 20% had suffered from a lack of sleep or insomnia over that year due to everything from job-related stress to uncomfortable beds. Of those 20%, more than 5% had injured themselves at work because of being tired from lack of sleep. These workplace accidents are becoming more and more prevalent say personal injury lawyers.
When the researchers averaged out the total costs related to these accidents, they found that the average cost was about $500. In comparison, they surveyed other employees who did not suffer from lack of sleep and found that only about 4% made errors that caused injuries.
Some of the more serious accidents happened at factory plants on the assembly lines when a worker was not paying attention and got injured, causing the line to shut down while everything was cleaned up. Work-related car accidents were the second biggest cause of injury and general mistakes were in third place.
Ultimately, the researchers believe that insomnia and sleep deprivation are the root cause of more than 7% of the total number of work-related injuries and other errors that can cost a company a large amount of money. Of the total number of workplace accidents that occur in this country, about a quarter of them are linked to sleep deprivation.
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