My Discussion
I have both experienced and witnessed tragedy as a result of acute sleep loss. The first was my college roommate; that was killed when he fell asleep at the wheel one weekend while trying to get back to class after driving all night. At the time I had no idea that I would also have a life changing event, by doing the same, falling asleep at the wheel.
At present, I am not a shift worker.
Do to my civilian career in commercial aviation as an Aircraft Maintenance Technician (AMT) [Airframe & Powerplant Mechanic]; I have spent my life in shift work. When I started in this vocation, working for a Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility, mainly performing C & D checks, I went to college during the day and worked forty hours or more on second shift. The shift was usually between 4:00 p.m. to midnight (16:00 – 24:00). If you had to clock out for you lunch break, it would be longer; and any overtime was after mid-night. Towards the end of the aircraft check, there was usually plenty of overtime, and it was required. At this time in my life, I did not need as much sleep as I need now to perform these tasks up to standard and in a safe manner. Later on, at Eastern Air Lines, the work demand was even greater. I was no longer going to college, but the hours were usually 10-hour shifts and sometimes six days a week. During this time, I also worked over 250 miles from home and commuted by air on my days off. I eventually went to the grave-yard shift because it was easier to travel on …show more content…
I was wounded and suffered another TBI the second in just two years. During the recovery phase through some sleep studies, I was diagnosed with abstractive central sleep apnea and narcolepsy. I already was on a CPAP for abstractive sleep apnea, but the central sleep apnea and narcolepsy was a new diagnosis and probably caused by the second
I have both experienced and witnessed tragedy as a result of acute sleep loss. The first was my college roommate; that was killed when he fell asleep at the wheel one weekend while trying to get back to class after driving all night. At the time I had no idea that I would also have a life changing event, by doing the same, falling asleep at the wheel.
At present, I am not a shift worker.
Do to my civilian career in commercial aviation as an Aircraft Maintenance Technician (AMT) [Airframe & Powerplant Mechanic]; I have spent my life in shift work. When I started in this vocation, working for a Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility, mainly performing C & D checks, I went to college during the day and worked forty hours or more on second shift. The shift was usually between 4:00 p.m. to midnight (16:00 – 24:00). If you had to clock out for you lunch break, it would be longer; and any overtime was after mid-night. Towards the end of the aircraft check, there was usually plenty of overtime, and it was required. At this time in my life, I did not need as much sleep as I need now to perform these tasks up to standard and in a safe manner. Later on, at Eastern Air Lines, the work demand was even greater. I was no longer going to college, but the hours were usually 10-hour shifts and sometimes six days a week. During this time, I also worked over 250 miles from home and commuted by air on my days off. I eventually went to the grave-yard shift because it was easier to travel on …show more content…
I was wounded and suffered another TBI the second in just two years. During the recovery phase through some sleep studies, I was diagnosed with abstractive central sleep apnea and narcolepsy. I already was on a CPAP for abstractive sleep apnea, but the central sleep apnea and narcolepsy was a new diagnosis and probably caused by the second