SAFETY4SEA SEAFiT - Issue 01

ISSUE 01 | Q1 2023 4 C ontrary to our quiet physical state, the brain is very active during sleep, carrying out many important functions. Sleep is essen- tial to every process in the body and for maintaining our baseline mental health. Lack of sleep for one night can have a significant impact on mood the following day. Poor sleep hygiene over an extended period of time has been linked to depression, anxiety, and other illnesses. Additionally, just like exercise and a healthy diet, getting enough sleep may help prevent a number of illnesses, including depression and heart disease. In today’s fast-paced world, our need for a good night’s sleep is more important–and elusive–than ever. In a New York Times bestseller book, co-founder and Editor in Chief of The Huffington Post, Arianna Huffington, has highlighted how our cultural dismissal of sleep as time wasted compromises our health and our decision-making and undermines both our work lives and our per- sonal lives. When it comes to people on- board, it is worth mentioning that sea- farers work and live under a challeng- ing environment with regards to their safety and health. Long voyage sailing, irregular working hours and navigation in harsh weather conditions are some of the difficulties of working on board of large vessels. Other challenges of working at sea include the inability to leave the workplace, living and working in the same environment, and restrict- ed contact with family members for a long time. Therefore, seafaring has a legitimate risk to one’s mental health, and irregular working hours can inter- fere with sleep, may cause fatigue, and eventually result in some psychological issues. Fatigue can be described as a drowsy state of deprived sleep and extreme tiredness. Fatigued seafarers may have diminished cognitive func- tion and lose interest in their profes- sion, putting themselves, their cowork- ers, the ship they are running, and the larger marine environment in peril. Hours of work and rest are impor- tant, but tiredness and fatigue manage- ment go beyond just recording hours. Although the risks cannot always be removed, the good news is that tired- ness and fatigue can be managed. In that regard, it is important for ship operators focus on ways to manage fa- tigue, i.e. through ship design, crewing levels, workload, food provision, exer- cise facilities, sleeping arrangements and training the crew about dangers and mitigation. Furthermore, each crew member should be responsible for managing his/her time as best as pos- sible, adjust watches when necessary, get support if needed, keep accurate accounts of work and rest and notify the DPA if required. According to a recent study, the majority of sailors thought that their physical work environment and con- cerns presented by their families had an impact on the quality of their sleep. They cited the nature of the profession and the psychosocial work environ- ment as contributing factors to stress at sea. The majority of participants also noted that a lack of social interactions had an undesirable impact on both their personal and professional lives at home and on board. Why sleep and mental health go hand-in-hand Numerous long-term stressors can negatively impact seafarers’ well- being, and the rigorous nature of their work does not usually embrace the ne- cessity for getting enough sleep. However, it’s critical that crew members consist- ently make an effort to get enough sleep. PARTICIPATE NOW! s e a f i t . s a f e t y 4 s e a . c o m Less than 10 minutes The SEAFiT Crew Survey is an industry initiative, running within Q1 & Q2 of 2023, with the aim to identify trends, provide feedback to all industry stakeholders and provide a roadmap for embracing a new well-being mind- set on an organizational and industry level. 5K ships 100K seafarers Within Q3 of 2023