This is an interesting cross-sectional study which looked at the self-reported occurrences of sleep disruption and vehicle accidents or near miss accidents among new parents (abstract below).
It found that sleep problems are, as expected, common in new parents and poor quality sleep and impaired daytime function during the postpartum stage are associated with self-reported vehicle near miss events & accidents. Although the safety link with sleep dysfunction is pretty well established with driving (and other industrial contexts), the focus on new parents was something I found interesting with this paper.
It may provide food for thought for workplaces that utilise mobile workforces (transport etc.) and/or providing alternate work arrangements for new parents to reduce driving time/frequency.
Note: This was a self-reported survey, so recall bias is always an issue.
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Abstract
Background: Drowsy driving is estimated to be a causal factor in 2–16 % of vehicular crashes. Several populations are reported to be at high risk for drowsy driving accidents, including shift workers, teenage drivers, medical residents, and pilots. Although new parents are known to have significant sleep disruption, no study has investigated vehicular accidents or near miss accidents in this population.
Methods: A preliminary cross-sectional, anonymous survey of parents who had given birth within the previous 12 months. Participants were asked about their sleep, including validated measures of sleep disruption, their driving patterns, and information about near miss traffic accidents and actual crashes.
Results: Overall, 72 participants were enrolled. A large proportion of participants had poor sleep including approximately 30 % with daytime sleepiness, 60 % with poor daytime function and two-thirds with poor sleep quality. The mean sleep duration was only 6.4 h. Although most participants drove <100 miles per week, 22.2 % reported at least one near miss accident and 5.6 % reported a crash. Sleep problems were more common in those with near miss accidents and actual crashes than in those without. Of note, poor sleep quality was associated with a sixfold increase in near miss accidents even after accounting for other factors.
Conclusion: Poor sleep is common in new parents and we provide preliminary evidence that sleep disruption in this population is associated with near miss motor vehicle accidents. Drowsy driving results in thousands of unnecessary serious injuries and fatalities each year; raising public awareness that new parents are a high-risk group is important.
Authors: Malish, S., Arastu, F., & O’Brien, L.M. (2015). A Preliminary Study of New Parents, Sleep Disruption, and Driving: A Population at Risk? Maternal and Child Health Journal, pp 1-8.
Study link: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-015-1828-5
Link to the LinkedIn article: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/preliminary-study-new-parents-sleep-disruption-risk-ben-hutchinson
SafetyInsights.org 