Two million Aussies are 'on call' while asleep

Two million Australians are on call while asleep, many ready for emergency response, and now researchers have been funded to assess the impact on-call work has on sleep, stress and their performance next day.

CQUniversity Professor Sally Ferguson has secured funding from the Australian Research Council to progress the research titled ‘Sleeping with one ear open: the impact on sleep and waking function’.

Prof Ferguson is based at CQUniversity’s Appleton Institute in Adelaide and will collaborate with Professor Leon Lack from Flinders University and Dr Brad Aisbett from Deakin University to complete a laboratory study investigating the factors that may impact sleep while on call. Factors to be studied include the likelihood of a phone call, the task importance and the chance of missing a call.

Prof Ferguson says that if on-call sleep proves to be less restorative than non on-call sleep, there is an unidentified vulnerability in Australia’s capacity to deliver critical services in health and emergency response and that work arrangements may require modification to facilitate more sustainable on-call work.

“Two million Australians, including paid employees and volunteers, are on call, providing essential 24-hour services including emergency response,” Prof Ferguson says.

“While sleep during on-call periods is disrupted when a call occurs, some research suggests that sleeping with one ear open waiting for a call may disrupt sleep even if no call occurs. If on-call sleep is less restorative, then individuals are at risk of performance impairment and adverse health outcomes.

“This project will answer questions about the magnitude of sleep disruption when on call (but not actually called), the mechanisms for any disruption and impact on waking function. While individuals may feel like they sleep with one ear open, we do not know whether sleep is actually disrupted by the expectation of a call, whether this disruption impairs waking performance or the mechanisms involved. Increased anxiety is at the centre of the proposed mechanism of action for sleep disturbances.”