Which Workers Get the Least Amount of Sleep?

DEPARTMENTS

BY THE NUMBERS

In March, CDC released an analysis of data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) that correlates information about workers' sleep habits with occupational groups. The BRFSS is an annual telephone survey of randomly selected United States citizens age 18 or older. U.S. states and territories conduct BRFSS to gather data on health-related risk behaviors, illnesses, and use of health-related services. The BRFSS questionnaire comprises a set of core questions and several optional modules. In 2013 and 2014, a total of 29 states administered the industry and occupation module. An analysis of data from this module appears in the March 3, 2017 issue of CDC’s

Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report

(MMWR). The analysis focuses on data related to prevalence of short sleep duration (less than 7 hours per day) within occupational groups.

BRFSS participants were grouped into 22 major occupations based on the Standard Occupational Classification System used by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Within these major groups, the analysis identified 93 occupational subgroups. Information from the MMWR analysis appears below.

From “Short Sleep Duration by Occupation Group—29 States, 2013–2014”:

“Shift work negatively influences health, by affecting the natural circadian rhythm, leading to irregularities in the sleep-wake cycle. The five major occupation groups with the highest prevalence of short sleep duration (Production, Healthcare Support, Healthcare Practitioners and Technical, Food Preparation and Serving-Related, and Protective Service) also have some of the highest prevalence rates of alternative shift work.”

SOURCE

Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report:

“

Short Sleep Duration by Occupation Group—29 States, 2013–2014

” (March 2017).

the Synergist

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