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Amy Maddux
Evelyn Galvez
Bio Lab 1615 Friday 10:00 am
Friday, July 22, 2016

Occupational Injuries related to Sleepiness in Indian Traditional Industries

Ajeet Jaiswal

Introduction
How does sleep affect your work ethic? When you get less sleep, do you finish projects
and maintain productivity within your occupation? In this-cross sectional analysis, it is
hypothesized that fatigue and lack of sleep not only affects productivity in the workforce but can
cause a higher percentage of work-related injuries. Sleepiness/fatigue reduces performance
capability This leads to human error and potentially increases the risk for accidents. (Jaiswal
248) The author specifically studied the correlation between the two in traditional Indian
manufacturing plants, and help plan for to prevent those occurrences. After compiling data from
many other research papers, It was decided to study fatigue and sleepiness in a group of
workers and the incidence of accidents was studied in relation to fatigue and sleepiness so as to
help plan better for preventable measures. (Jaiswal 250)
Materials and methods
Data was collected from 920 individuals who live in two separate provinces in India,
Varanasi and Mirzapur districts. Both of these districts have high percentage of people working

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in small scale manufacturing plants or small scale enterprises. The workers completed a selfrated questionnaire, and there was about a 70% response rate. This questionnaire asked about the
following: demographics, current job and business type, occupational injury, and sleep;
symptoms of depression, lifestyle factors, and if disease is present. Information was placed into
tables and analyzed. Any questionnaire with missing data from demographics and current job
type were eliminated.
Results
91% of workers were working in plants, 64% male, and age of participates ranged from
18-65 with twenty-five percent being between the ages of 50-59. 29% claimed they were
involved in occupational injuries within the last one-year period. In relation to sleep, 17% stated
difficulty initiating sleep (DIS), 8% for difficulty maintaining sleep (DMS), and 7% for early
morning awakening (EMA). These three types were prevalent in 39% of workers who slept
fewer than six hours, however, 46.9% of the subject reported sleep that was definitely and/or
somewhat insufficient. (Jaiswal 257)
Discussion
The proposed experiment was done to determine sleep, its relation to work, and the rate
of injury in Indian Traditional Industries. The results of this study are consistent with other
studies addressing the same issue of sleep irregularities and work related injuries. In this study,
Researchers observed a strongest association between DIS and occurrence of occupational
injuries (Jaiswal 259), however, our data suggested that efficiency of sleep may be as
important as or more important than mere sleep deration. (Jaiswal 260) Although it seems to be
a direct correlation between lack of quality sleep and work-related injuries, these are only labeled
as associations, and not a direct relationship between the two. The author also suggests that

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other variables such as exercise and amount of hours worked were not included in this study, and
may have an impact on the results. In conclusion, there is a correlation between sleep patterns
having a direct impact on work safety and productivity. The author quotes another study
suggesting a mid-day nap to mitigate work-related injuries.

Ajeet Jaiswal Occupational Injuries related to Sleepiness in Indian Traditional

Industries. Human Biology Review (2012): 248-267. Print.