Make Sleep Health a Priority This World Sleep Day

Issue #82 – March 2025

Welcome to Focus on Fatigue!

Friday 14 March is World Sleep Day and this year’s theme is Make Sleep Health a Priority!

In this edition of Focus on Fatigue we will take a look at a recent study that linked sleep hygiene to sleep health in FIFO workers and consider how you can improve your sleep health.

The FRMS Team

Views expressed in articles and links provided are those of the individual authors, and do not necessarily represent the views of InterDynamics (except where directly attributed).

Sleep Hygiene Impacts Sleep Health

As we observe World Sleep Day, the theme “Make Sleep Health a Priority” resonates more than ever, emphasising the profound impact that quality sleep has on our overall health. A critical aspect of achieving better sleep health is through the practice of good sleep hygiene, a connection underscored by recent research.

In a recent study focused on mining shift workers in Australia, findings revealed a significant relationship between sleep hygiene and sleep health. Australia’s mine sites, often located in remote areas, require workers to adapt to challenging schedules, including 12-hour shifts and living in camp accommodations. Despite these conditions, the study found that workers who maintained better sleep hygiene experienced markedly better sleep health. The research, which involved 470 shift workers, utilised the Sleep Health Index and Sleep Hygiene Index questionnaires to assess this relationship.

Lead author on the study, Mr Philipp Beranek, noted the following:

“Key Insights:

• Mining shift workers with better sleep hygiene had better sleep health.
• In particular, a regular sleep schedule, a comfortable sleep environment, good mental health, and limited time in bed extensions had the strongest association with sleep health.
• These findings indicate that mining shift workers may be able to improve their sleep health by improving their sleep hygiene, with a particular focus on the strategies mentioned above. Further, improving mining camp accommodations may improve mining shift workers’ sleep health.”

Why Is Sleep Important?

• Restoration and Rejuvenation: During sleep, your body repairs and rejuvenates, enhancing cell repair and boosting the immune system.
• Cognitive Function and Memory: Sleep aids in processing and consolidating new information, crucial for memory retention.
• Emotional and Mental Health: Adequate sleep is essential for mood regulation and stress reduction.

Steps to Improve Sleep Health

While, for shiftworkers, there are certain elements of sleep health that may be outside of their control, we can chose to focus on what we can control. Make a plan to prioritize your sleep health by improving your sleep hygiene.

• Create a Restful Environment: Ensure your sleeping environment is quiet, dark, and cool.
• Mind What You Eat and Drink: Avoid stimulants such as caffeine and heavy meals before bedtime.
• Prepare Your Mind for Sleep: Develop a relaxing bedtime routine to ease the transition to sleep.
• Consistency is Key: Stick to a regular sleep schedule to help regulate your body’s clock (for shift workers this may involve a regular night shift and day shift schedule).

Organisations can support their shiftworkers by providing quality resources and training to help manage shiftwork and sleep.

The Path Forward

This World Sleep Day, let us treat sleep with the seriousness it deserves as a pillar of health. By prioritising good sleep hygiene and understanding its impact, we can enhance our sleep health and, by extension, our overall well-being.

‘Sleep hygiene’: How FIFO workers can get a better night’s sleep

Edith Cowan University, Jan 25
Better sleep hygiene could see fly-in, fly-out (FIFO) mining shift workers get a better night’s sleep, new research from Edith Cowan University (ECU) has shown.

What FAID Quantum Can Do For You

We are pleased to share that InterDynamics is featured in this month’s Australian Mining Review, discussing the ways FAID Quantum can be used as a decision support tool in mining and other industries.

Leading Air Traffic Control Provider Adopts FAID Quantum

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