Sleep Loss Deadly

According to a 2004 Circadian Technologies report, about 25 percent of night shift workers have Shift Work Sleep Disorder, a mismatch between required sleep-wake schedules and internal circadian clocks.

Night shift work increases injury risk 23 percent and risk grows with consecutive nights worked.

About 1.1 million men sleep less than 4.5 hours a day and about 1.1 million women sleep less than 3.5 hours a day, Birky said.

It’s associated with a six-year mortality rate — “in six years, 15 percent are dead,” he said.