George Robitaille probably never dreamed of becoming an Internet sensation. As in, while the Toronto Transit Commission fare collector was asleep on the job, chances are he wasn't entertaining visions of someone snapping his picture and uploading it to Twitter, where it would earn Mr. Robitaille Internet infamy. But that's what happened two weeks ago, and public reaction has ranged from bemused to downright harsh.
“I wish I could work at the TTC and take a nap every day like this guy,” one online commenter said. “He should be fired on the spot,” another wrote.
Of course, some online commentators sympathized with Mr. Robitaille. As one wrote, “Who hasn't napped on the job at least once?”
Considering the amount of sleep people get, quite a few of us have probably caught some shut-eye while at work, whether it's a nap at break time or conking out at our desks. And while anyone who's been seen asleep on the job has likely earned the derision of their colleagues, sleep deprivation is a significant problem for the workplace, affecting everything from productivity to relations with co-workers.
“It is a major problem,” says Dr. James MacFarlane, director of education at MedSleep, a network of sleep medicine clinics across Canada.
In 2009, a poll conducted by the National Sleep Foundation, a U.S. advocacy organization, found that the average person gets 6.7 hours of sleep a night, down from seven hours in 2001. Experts recommend that people get 7.5 hours. Lack of sleep can impair a broad range of cognitive functions, including memory, resulting in a decreased ability to focus. Not getting enough sleep can also sour interactions with colleagues.
“The No. 1 clinical symptom of sleep deprivation is irritability,” says Dr. Charles Samuels, medical director of the Centre for Sleep and Human Performance in Calgary.
Debbie Lee, 33, a certified acupuncturist in Vancouver, can't afford to be irritable at work.
“A lot of the people who come to see me are really highly stressed,” she says, “so I need to be the not stressed out one.”
Often, Ms. Lee will lie on an acupuncture table under a heat lamp and sleep for half an hour between appointments.
“It's necessary sometimes,” she says. “I'll think it's a good idea to lay on the table under the heat lamp and read a book, but of course I fall asleep.”
Mike Evans, a 33-year-old contractor who lives in Burlington, Ont., will often catch a power nap during break.
“It just depends on whether or not I got enough sleep the night before,” he says. He may take a 15-minute nap in his truck or find a heated room inside whatever building he is working on. “You know how it is when you're sitting in a nice warm room. It's kind of hard to keep your eyes open sometimes.”
He's not the only employee of his company in need of shut-eye. For some of his co-workers, naps are a regular part of the workday.
“At the end of break, it's like, ‘Go and wake Ted up. Break's over,' ” he says.
Depending on a person's job, a power nap can mean the difference between life and death.
“If you're in an occupation where when something happens you only have a few seconds to respond, and driving is one of those, then actually you can have a catastrophic event,” says Dr. David Dinges, a sleep researcher at the University of Pennsylvania.
A 2003 study conducted by Dr. Dinges found that sleep deprivation is linked to lapses in attention. The study looked at individuals who had four, six or eight hours of sleep a night for two weeks. Study participants were asked to monitor a computer screen where, at random intervals, the display would begin counting up in milliseconds from zero to one second.
