According to 'Survey on Sleep Industry' published by Korea Health Industry Development Institute in 2019
As of 2016, Koreans' average sleep time was 7 hours and 41 minutes
being 41 minutes less than OECD countries' average of 8 hours and 22 minutes
remaining at a low level
According to Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service's statistics
Korean insomnia patients are
increasing from 630,000 in 2019 to 650,000 in 2020
and 680,000 in 2021
What would be the reason that modern men cannot get enough sleep
that they seek for multiple ways to get good and deep sleep?
The reason would differ from person to person
but it is also diagnosed that
the accumulation of fatigue throughout the community is also a social factor
Especially young workers in their twenties and thirties actively engaging in social life
being unable to sleep well
was effected by the so-called 'fatigue society'
Like this, the fatigue from work can have adverse effect on every day life as well
We will go over how to manage such fatigue
First, let's talk about fatigue concepts
Fatigue refers to the state in which body and mind are tired due to excessive activity
It causes a long-term loss of exercise, and sleep and interruption of the internal clock, resulting in the decline of
mental and physical performances
Fatigue is distinguished into physical fatigue, mental fatigue, and emotional fatigue
Industrial health fatigue means
fatigue caused from
excessive mental or physical labor
and refers to a state in which work efficiency is temporarily decreased
Shift work refers to a system in which workers are divided into two or more groups
Occupational accident refers to the death
injury or illness of a worker due to an unexpected accident at an industrial site
As industry becomes more complex and society becomes more advanced, fatigue increases
making it a new subject of interest in safety and health care
Job characteristics that increase fatigue include long hours of work, shift work, excessive job demands
role conflicts, lack of discretion, and lack or social support from colleagues or bosses
Fatigue affects workers' functional activities directly or indirectly
Fatigue is a normal response
but the deterioration of bio-function increases discomfort and weakness,
response to stimuli weakens
causing physiological and biochemical changes in all organs of the body
proven to be a risk factor for chronic diseases like heart disease
This decline in physical and mental functioning leads to
a decrease in motivation for work or in job efficiency
Fatigue and worker fatigue slow down individual work movements and judgements
and decreases activeness in interpersonal relationships
hindering cooperative work and insensitizing labor consciousness
harming not only the company but also the family and society
Fatigue also reduces concentration during work of workers working long hours
and negatively affects safety work behavior that recognizes dangerous situations at work
becoming a cause of accidents
Fatigue is also closely related to work patterns
It is a symptom that is mainly complained of during night work rather than day work
Causes sleepiness, sleep disorders
and increases the incidence of occupational accidents
making it a major factor that hinders industrial safety
A tired worker
might suffer from general symptoms like having no energy, exhausted, feeling heavy
having hard time waking up in the morning, having no appetite, difficulties in digestion, insomnia
and weight gain or weigh loss
Physical symptoms of fatigue include
heavy head, hard time breathing, general malaise
pain in arms and legs, bradykinesia, rigidity and relax of joints
As for mental symptoms of fatigue there are
dizziness, decrease in attention span, psychological instability, etc.
If fatigue symptoms get worse
muscle pain, shortness of breath, abnormal sweating, digestive problems
headaches and dizziness may occur
Among the contributing factors to fatigue
The first work-related factor is the workload
In terms of work method, work posture, work flow, operation method, order of motion, muscle work
and in terms of work density, things like work speed, energy use, attention and tension
and work demands have an impact
The second contributing factor, working environment conditions include physical environment and social and psychological environment
Physical environment refers to lighting, noise, vibration, ventilation, temperature conditions etc.
Social and psychological environment refers to environments like job stress
The third contributing factor is work organization and time
Work organization is affected by strictness of work management, whether there is regulation or autonomy, and whether the responsibility is shared
And working hours are affected by continuous working hours per day, improper breaks, improper working schedules and shifts
and insufficient recovery time between shifts
Other factor include excessive commuting hours, additional work after work
and frequent or long staff dinners that last until late hours
There could be other personal factors
In terms of age, it would be more difficult to adjust to night shifts if you're older
Diseases or health conditions that have fatigue as the main symptoms
Such as
obesity, anemia, tuberculosis, depression, stress, diabetes, pregnancy, hypothyroidism, heart disease
chronic fatigue syndrome, etc.
And drug side effects like
some antihypertensive drugs, most tranquilizers, anti-inflammatory pain medications, anti-convulsants
adrenocortical steroids, cold medicines, oral contraceptives, etc. could affect fatigue
Also, excessive drinking and smoking, lack of physical activity
and lack of sleep and rest due to social activities and family life have impact as well
And in terms of personal personality, perfectionism, confidence, type A personality, emotional instability
and introversion can be cited as personal factors
Looking at the effects of fatigue
sleep deprivation due to fatigue can lead to sleepiness, poor judgement, decreased reaction speed, increased mistakes
and increased damage
workers who feel tired have safety and health-related behavior changes
and lower concentration, reducing work efficiency and increasing industrial accident rates
Therefore, in the case of workplaces where many workers feel tired
the overall productivity of the workplace decreases
Due to the increase in the absenteeism rate, turnover rate, and accident rate of workers