NCJ Number
218064
Journal
Tactical Response Volume: 5 Issue: 2 Dated: March-April 2007 Pages: 100-101
Date Published
March 2007
Length
2 pages
Annotation
This article defines "sleep inertia" and discusses its implications for the performance of police officers on call who are wakened from a deep sleep to respond to an emergency.
Abstract
"Sleep inertia" is defined as the state of grogginess, reduced vigilance, and impaired cognitive and behavioral performance that we experience in the initial period after waking from a deep sleep. Sleep researchers have found that the most severe impairments from sleep inertia occur within 3 minutes of waking. The most severe effects generally dissipate within 10-minutes, although effects often persist for up to 2 hours. On-call scheduling that raises the issue of sleep inertia and diminished police performance occurs either when departments are too small for 24-hour shift rotations or because emergencies occur in the middle of the night that require SWAT officers to be called to duty. In order to compensate for diminished alertness after being wakened for a call, officers should have pencil, paper, and a bright light by the bed. Information received in the call should be recorded on the paper and repeated by the dispatcher. Also, alertness can be facilitated by having uniforms and duty gear in a room other than the bedroom, which will require movement from the bedroom. Other techniques are to consume a caffeine drink, wash the face with cold water, and turn on loud music and bright lights.