CDA+CT+KF=TMT The formula for tiredness

Press Release
16/05/2004

CDA + CT + KF = TMT
The Formula for Tiredness

Today scientists have released a tool to help the 12 million UK workers suffering the everyday nightmare of coping with tiredness in the workplace.

The precise formula is:

CDA + CT + KF = TMT

CDA is an abbreviation for the time of our circadian dip in alertness (circadian rhythms are natural biological rhythms that occur every 24 hours), CT reflects chronotype (the timing of the individual’s circadian rhythm) and KF considers the effects of everyday 'knacker factors' including prior sleep quantity and quality and alcohol consumption. TMT indicates the time an individual is likely to feel most tired.

AWAKE, the fatigue-management consultancy, was commissioned to develop the formula after the ‘Wake Up’ survey revealed almost 40% of Brits feel sleepy at work, over half admitted to making mistakes when tired and 62% claimed tiredness affected their social lives.

This simple equation could help people of all professions to minimise the consequences of tiredness. For example, business people could benefit by simply not arranging meetings during their anticipated slump in alertness.

AWAKE researchers comment that - “Tiredness is an unfortunate reality for many office workers trying to juggle their work, family and social responsibilities. There are situations where we really need to be alert, for example when meeting clients or making important business decisions. This simple equation enables anyone to calculate what time of the day they are likely to feel most tired and to schedule their activities accordingly.”

The ‘Wake Up’ survey also revealed that men and women have different experiences of workplace tiredness. While the majority of women (64%) reported that tiredness made them feel irritable, men were more likely to say they make mistakes when tired.

Despite the impact of irritability and making mistakes in the workplace, it seems that neither sex is taking effective measures against tiredness. 50% of tired workers use ineffective strategies to combat the problem.

Five tell tale signs of sleepiness at work:
• Difficulty finding the right words and delivering them
• Inability to ignore irrelevant information
• Delayed response to simple questions
• Irritability
• Increased likelihood of making mistakes

The AWAKE research concludes that - “The quality of sleep you get can make the difference between thriving in the workplace and merely surviving. This survey has highlighted that many people in the UK are not getting sufficient sleep and the resulting sleep deprivation is impacting on all aspects of our lives. The only effective long-term solution to tiredness is to get regular good quality sleep. However if you do feel tired, identifying when you will be at your worst allows you to plan when you should stick to mundane office tasks. If this isn’t an option, a 15 minute power nap combined with caffeine will temporarily alleviate tiredness.”

To find out when you will feel most tired today go to www.knackerfactor.co.uk