There was a study published in 2005 reporting that anesthesia residents are sleep deprived. Furthermore, they report that they are sleep-deprived on a regular basis, not just post-call. It was only when they were allowed to report to work at 10AM, were their EEGs consistent with true "awakeness." These are not unique findings. The results are consistent with findings from other groups on other residents, and other disciplines such as the airline industry. They all suggest that we underperform when we are sleep deprived, and are underestimating how truly sleep-deprived we are. They even give us tips on how to minimize sleep deprivation: work with the light/dark cycle, minimize caffeine and alcohol, SLEEP. How do I know all this interesting information, you ask? Let me tell you . . .
I am on the CVICU nightshift this week and next. I report to work at 5PM. On a bad night, I work all night, no breaks, no naps. On a good night, I work until about 1 AM, getting a 2 hour nap before getting called about morning labs, which are drawn at 3AM. If I manage to go back to sleep, I nap for another hour or 2 before it is time to go to morning conference. I struggle through morning conference, then am released to home for about 8 hours, during which I try to catch up on my sleep defecit and spend time with my kids, before I return to the ICU for more fun. Last night I was up most of the night, and didn't get to lie down until about 4AM, at which time I was trying to decide whether I would go to the next morning conference. I decided to go, since my husband had said that he would be taking the kids to school early, and I wouldn't be able to see them anyway (since we are required to go to 90% of the conferences, I might as well save "skipping" for when I can see the kids). Soon after I fell into a deep sleep, my alarm went off, nagging me to go to morning conference. I tried to gather my thoughts as I brushed my teeth and got ready for the morning. This morning's conference was supposed to be about fluids and electrolytes, and I had read the night before to prepare, but was still very cloudy in my thinking. I was still quite out of it, as I dragged myself to the conference room. I sat down and waited for everyone else to file in. After question of the day (we do a board question everyday before conference), the program director announced that the lecturer had a family crisis, and so instead of the scheduled lecture, he would show us a video tape. The topic? Sleep deprivation in anesthesia residents!!!!!!!!!!!! I allowed myself to fall asleep upon start of the video and woke up to the sound of someone else's pager with five minutes left on the video. I heard nothing of the talk, but decided to look up the topic later (Proc (Bayl Univ Med Cent). 2005 April; 18(2): 108–112). Enlightening. Truly. Oh the irony of forcing one's self out of bed to attend a lecture on the perils of sleep deprivation! Curse you, Dr. Program Director. Curse you!
