NEWS RELEASE
May 10 2002
Sleep,
work and play
UniSA
public lecture on the impact of fatigue
Since
the invention of the electric light bulb in the 1870s there has been a
major drop in the amount of sleep obtained by people in the industrialised
world. As the world embraces a 24-hour society, employees are working
longer and more flexible hours, often at a great cost.
On
Monday May 13 Dr Adam Fletcher, a senior research fellow at UniSA’s Centre for
Sleep Research, will be presenting a free public lecture on the work and
non-work related costs resulting from fatigue – and discussing some
possible solutions to a problem that is affecting more and more people.
Titled
sleep, work and play: the impact of
fatigue on workers, families and communities, the lecture is the first
in the Weaving the Social Fabric
Lecture Series 2002*, presented by UniSA’s Hawke Institute in
conjunction with the Division of Arts, Education and Social Sciences. As
part of promoting community involvement, the lecture will be responded to
by Michelle Hogan, who is director
of the Dale St Women’s Health Centre and was until recently assistant
secretary of the South Australian United Trades and Labour Council.
Dr
Fletcher says that while the cost of fatigue has been well acknowledged in
some areas – such as in the interests of road and workplace safety –
the impact of lack of sleep on a person’s family life and general
well-being is all too often shrugged off.
“One
area of fatigue research that we know the most about is road accidents,
with studies showing that between 5 – 15 per cent of all fatal road
accidents are related to fatigue,” he says.
“Industry
has focused on the work-related aspects of fatigue and considerable
research has clarified the direct and indirect causes of mismanagement –
however there are also many non-work costs that are born by the families
of shift workers and the communities in which they live.
“There
are a whole range of problems that people who are working when the rest of
their family is sleeping experience, such as poor communication,
unnecessary arguments, and not being able to participate in or plan family
events. Because people are working out of sync, often there’s a feeling
of isolation from family.”
Dr
Fletcher, who was named Young South Australian of the Year in 2001, has extensive
clinical experience working with sleep disorders. He developed a
computerised model for work-related fatigue with UniSA colleague, Dr Drew
Dawson which has been converted into software that was recently awarded
‘best IT solution’ by the South Australian Workcover Authority.
*The
Hawke Institute’s Weaving the
Social Fabric public lecture series runs monthly from May to
October, on Mondays from 6:00pm-7:45pm. Other lectures to be held this
year include Nicolas Procter on Seeking Asylum in Australia, Jeff Fuller on Rural Mental Health, Anne Glover on Education in Nation Building, Margaret Peters on Women
in Executive Positions and
Donna Chung on Violence in Intimate Relationships. Each lecture will also host a community member as a key discussant to
each paper.
Media contact:Charlotte
Knottenbelt (08) 8302 0578 or 0407 726 175
email: charlotte.knottenbelt@unisa.edu.au
More
information: Dr Adam Fletcher, UniSA's Sleep
Research Centre (08) 8222 6624, email:
adam.fletcher@unisa.edu.au
UniSA's Hawke Institute: Dr Tahnya
Donaghy, 8302 4581
