Neuroergonomics of sleep and alertness

Sleepiness is a major problem in modern life. For example, more than a third of respondents to the National Sleep Foundation 2002 Sleep in America poll reported being so sleepy that it interfered with their daily activities at least a few days a month. According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (2004), about 15% of the US workforce works outside of the regular daytime work hours of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and these shift workers have been shown to have shorter sleep durations and increased sleepiness during their major wake periods than those who regularly work during the day. Because chronic sleepiness is common and frequently associated with impaired cognition, it should come as no surprise that sleepy people will, at times, experience failures in critical aspects of daily functioning that may lead to catastrophic results. The crash of the Exxon Valdez and the Three Mile Island, Chernobyl and Challenger disasters are dramatic and often-quoted examples of the dangers of sleepiness, but countless other, less-celebrated, examples are found in everyday life. Sleepiness is a public health and work policy issue that cannot be ignored.