A new study by Washington State University and the Seattle Police Department revealing the positive effects of fatigue-management programs is highlighted in Sleep Review Magazine.
The research program, which included modules on sleep hygiene, stress reduction, nutrition, and exercise, led to significant improvements in sleep quality, reduced PTSD symptoms, and lower rates of depression and anxiety among Seattle police employees.
Stephen James, PhD, core faculty in the WSU Sleep and Performance Research Center, co-authored the study and is quoted in the article.
“Our study is the first to document the effectiveness of a fatigue-training intervention in promoting police employee sleep, mental health, well-being, and safety using a randomized control trial design,” James said. “Amid calls for defunding police, departmental understaffing, and police burnout, our results suggest it would be wise to explore adopting fatigue management programs for police nationwide.”
Additional study co-authors include Lois James, PhD, assistant dean of research at the WSU College of Nursing and Loren Atherley, senior director of performance analytics and research at the Seattle Police Department. The study is published in the Journal of Experimental Criminology.