Sleepless in SaskatchewanMaking Sleep Work for You!

Canadian Occupational Health NursesEducation Day

Kendra Ulmer, RN, BSNCanadian Center for Health and Safety in Agriculture

October 4th, 2010

Learning Objectives •Participants will gain an understanding of the factors that contributed to Sleepless in Saskatchewan: Making Sleep work for You ! Being a success as a program and DVD resource• Participants will increase their understanding of the dynamics of sleep, how sleep works, how to get a better quality sleep and the connection between stress, sleep, and safety•Participants will learn tips for a quality sleep when managing extended hours of work and shift work

Saskatchewan Agriculture Injury Statistics

An average of 21 deaths occur, 300 people are hospitalizations and hundreds of more

injuries go unreported. Many of these injuries are disabling.

*Data shows that agricultural injuries are not due to random or isolated “accidents”

Agricultural Health and Safety Network in Saskatchewan

Goal: To reduce injury and illness related to the farm environment through cooperative efforts with our partners.

Mission: To improve the health & safety on the farm through education, service, & evaluation research.

Providing agricultural occupational health & safety programs & information.

Reaching Farm Families Through the Agricultural Health and Safety

Network

200 Rural Municipalities have current membership

28,000 + farm families

Importance of Sleep• Sleep is connected to our health, safety

and well-being.• Lack of sleep negatively affects our:

– Alertness and concentration – Performance– Judgments and decision-making skills – Memory– Ability to concentrate– Reaction time– Mood

Sleepless in Saskatchewan Project overview

Sleepless in Saskatchewan What do we all do and need? SLEEP!

Let Jon Shearer enhance your sleep experience by entertaining and teaching you about:

• The dynamics of sleep • Reducing stress and fatigue• Managing shift work and extended hours• Easy inexpensive ways to make sleep work

more effectively for you

The Road Show Begins……

Workshop Organization

Interested? Call (306) 966-6644 or E-mail: aghealthandsafety@usask.ca

Evening Workshops:

Lloydminster January 22nd

Swift Current January 23rd

Melfort January 24th

Estevan February 7th

Yorkton February 8th

Canwood February 9th

WHAT DO WE ALL DO AND NEED? SLEEP!!Let Jon Shearer enhance your sleep experience by entertaining and teaching you about

• the dynamics of sleep

• reducing stress and fatigue

• managing shift work and extended hours

• easy, inexpensive ways to make sleep work more effectively for you.

Workshop Promotion

• Network farm families

• Radio, newspapers, posters, telephone calls

• Local RM’s advertised in communities

• Word of mouth- spread like wildfire

• Website

Successful advertising!

Types of workshops • Rural evening workshops

• Some rural workshops combine with Municipality’s annual meeting

• Day workshops for professionals

• Day workshops for shift workers – Husky Oil – Sask. Public Servants – IPSCO (Interprovincial Steel and Pipe)

Who attended Sleepless in Saskatchewan Workshops

Farm familiesGovernment personnel

TeachersPlumbers

SecretariesRM councilors

CounselorsSales associates

EngineerFarmer/mechanic

ClergyHome maker

RancherCrop adjuster

CarpenterPilot

NurseSpecial Care aids

Knowledge Translation (KT) • What is Knowledge Translation?

The World Health Organization (WHO) 2005 defines KT as “ the synthesis, exchange, and application of knowledge by relevant stakeholders to accelerate the benefits of global and local innovation in strengthening health systems and improving people’s health”

• Sleepless in Saskatchewan Projects:– Synthesis of sleep and stress research– Exchange of information– Application to key stakeholders– Goal of improving the health and safety of

farm families

Sleepless in Saskatchewan

“Making Sleep Work for You!”

• Why the DVD ?– Knew there would be an end to the workshop

program (limitation of Jon’s time / availability)– Demand from participants – Extends Sleepless in Saskatchewan

Shift Work• Over 1/4 of Canadian workers are shift

workers- Stats Canada

• Under normal conditions the body follows a circadian rhythm. The body naturally follows a 24 hr cycle of wakefulness and sleepiness.

• Shift workers must be alert and ready to work when their body should be preparing to go to sleep.

• On days off, many shift workers return to normal hours resulting in a variety of physical and mental symptoms related to circadian rhythm disruptions.

• Shift work can be social isolating and is believed to contribute to mental health problems.

• The most common health complaint for shift workers is lack of sleep• Tolerance of shift work decreases with age

Shift Work• The ability to adjust to shift work is different for

every person. It may work well for your lifestyle or it may be very frustrating.

• Shift work can be associated with problems in family life. The strain of shift work on family life can lead to increased levels of stress. It is imperative that we take measures to do what we can to get better quality sleep especially if we work shift work.

Daytime Sleep Tips• Pay special attention to your sleep environment.

• Make your sleep time sacred and remind friends and family to respect your sleep time

• Develop a sleep routine that fits you! Try and go to sleep and wake up at the same time every day. Keep your body in a routine.

• Maintain a healthy diet and exercise regularly

• Avoid stimulants such as caffeine, nicotine, and sodium rich foods after midnight if you are planning to sleep from morning until afternoon.

• Sleep uninterrupted in a quiet dark room. Use an eye mask or hang very dark curtains. Keep bedroom cool.

• Eat potassium rich foods during night shifts.

• A nap before work or on a break improved alertness and reduces accidents. In a noisy household, use earplugs, fan or white noise machine

• Develop a pre-bedtime ritual to unwind from your shift

Working At Night

• Keep the light bright• Take short breaks throughout your shift• Get up and walk around during breaks• Talk with co-workers• Look for signs of drowsiness in each other• Try to eat 3 normal meals during your night shift• Don’t leave the more tedious tasks to the end of your

night shift when you are most likely to feel drowsy.• Exchange ideas with your colleagues on ways to cope

with the problems of shift work or set up a support group

DVD

Sleepless in Saskatchewan

“The important thing to recognize is that we’re all a little bit different and the length of sleep shouldn’t matter as much as the quality of

sleep” – Dr. Skomro-

Agricultural Health and Safety NetworkCanadian Centre for Health and Safety In Agriculture

University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada

www.aghealthandsafetynetwork.usask.ca(306)966-6643