More good reasons to stay fit, and keep your weight under control. Does your PD have a mandatory fitness test? Are you given any time on the job to exercise or is it strictly on your own time? What % of your PD would you say are over weight and or out of shape?


Sleep disorders plague police officers


Boston Globe

While sleep disorders plague many Americans, police officers may fare worse than others, according to a new Brigham and Women’s Hospital study that found 40 percent have a chronic sleep problem, which in most cases had not been diagnosed.

The national study published yesterday found that 26 percent of the officers reported that they fall asleep driving at least once a month because of excessive drowsiness.

Massachusetts State Police officers, however, had markedly lower rates of sleep problems such as obstructive sleep apnea, insomnia, and shift work sleepiness - most likely, the researchers said, because of a mandatory fitness test they must pass every two years to hold onto their jobs.

Police officers with sleep disorders were more than twice as likely to have depression, anxiety, and job burnout than those without, and they were three times more likely to fall asleep at the wheel, according to the study in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The researchers took into account other factors that could cause psychological problems like having a second job, alcohol consumption, and total number of hours worked.

“The sleep disorder statistics for police officers nationwide are much higher than what’s been reported in the general population,’’ said Dr. Charles Czeisler, study author and chief of the division of sleep medicine at Brigham.

Czeisler pointed to a higher rate of obesity among officers compared with the general population as a major factor, since sleep apnea has been linked to excess body weight.

Michael Grandner, a sleep researcher at the University of Pennsylvania who wrote an editorial that accompanied the study, said in an interview that police officers often spend much of their time “sitting behind desks or the wheel of a car.’’

“The lack of activity coupled with the high stress of dealing with criminals could explain the higher obesity rate,’’ he said.

This is not the case, though, for Massachusetts State Police, whose average body weight is lower than the average American’s and who may have fewer sleep problems as a result. Slightly more than 1 in 5 officers who participated in the study were obese compared with about 1 in 3 Americans and more than 1 in 3 police officers nationwide.

While Massachusetts enjoys the fourth-lowest obesity rate in the nation, Czeisler said the State Police on-the-job fitness program, one of a handful in the country, probably also plays a key role.

Two decades ago, the Legislature mandated that State Police officers periodically pass a fitness test, consisting of dragging a dummy in a rescue mission and taking down a suspect by scaling walls and running through an obstacle course.

To get and stay in shape for the test, police are allowed to set aside four hours of work time every week to exercise in a local fitness facility or gym onsite. They can also earn bonuses for their test performance.

Sergeant Rick Brown, president of the State Police Association of Massachusetts, said he was excited about the study findings, which he said demonstrated that the fitness regimen - which he helped develop - was having an impact.

“How else can you explain the differences?’’ he said.

Cont: Rest of the article goes into some discussion on the effects of sleep deprivation, night shift work, sleep apnea:

Sleep disorders plague police officers - Metro - The Boston Globe

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"Principle is a terrible thing, because it demands not what is convenient but what is right. " - Jonathan Turley

Will, I'm a firefighter and I also have a sleeping disorder. In the last 4 nights I have slept a total of 12 hours, one night I listen to music all night, all the other hours I lay there thinking about the calls and life and the kicker is I haven't worked the last 4 nights, I've been sleeping in my own bed. I work out regularly but I have to admit I have to use pre work out supplements like your stack or 1MR. I want to see a doctor about it but I don't want to get hooked on sleeping pills. Its the life I've chosen but I still love my job.