What is Not Keeping the Controllers Up at Night?

Imagine being a pilot who is radioing into the tower for approach clearance and hearing....nothing. You try again to contact the Tower for instructions and no reply comes back. It has happened all over the world and now, more than ever before, it is happening in towers across America. But why is it happening?

One explanation is the constant shift in schedules from one day shift to one night shift. Studies have shown that the human body needs an adjustment period to changing shifts and a period of transition. Could the constant shift changes be the cause? Or did the air traffic controllers read the research reports from Dr. Olaf Lahl of the University of Dusseldorf, Germany. Dr. Lahl found that a six-minute sleep break does more than refresh the brain - it can improve recall and mental efficiency.

Do you think the air traffic controllers were trying to catch a quick memory fix? I doubt it. These controllers were snoozing on the job and putting lives at risk. The sentencing for sleeping on the job: suspension.

The FAA was swift to condemn, even doubling the amount of controllers at some airports where one was the standard but is that the answer? How about the incidence where two controllers fell asleep on the job? Isn't it a fact that the fastest way to invoke a yawn from someone else is to yawn yourself? According to Discovery Fit & Health, " Yawning is contagious." We wonder if seeing someone fall asleep is contagious, too, and if so, will adding a second controller to the towers really improve this problem of sleeping on the job?

In this article on WebMD, sleep deprivation is affecting your health, performance and your ability to function. "Reducing your nighttime sleep by as little as one and a half hours for just one night could result in a reduction of daytime alertness by as much as 32%." You can read the full article here.

There are no immediate answers for the air traffic controllers who are napping on the job. If you are flying anytime soon, avoid the midnight to 8 am shift - most controllers are dozing off during that shift.

Sources:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/04/14/earlyshow/main20053840.shtml

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42573418/ns/travel-news/

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110413/ap_on_re_us/us_air_controller_lapse

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-517118/How-minute-power-nap-improve-memory.html

http://sleep.med.harvard.edu/people/faculty/220/Robert+Stickgold+PhD