Today (Friday 18th March) is World Sleep Day and the Lighthouse Construction Industry is partnering with Sleepstation to offer free access to this industry leading support to anyone in construction suffering from insomnia or poor sleep health.
Easily accessed through the Construction Industry Helpline App, Sleepstation is an NHS approved service aimed at improving support with insomnia and poor sleep health, but sadly it can be a postcode lottery on whether you can easily access the services free of charge.
The charity is offering the clinically proven sleep improvement programme completely free to charge to help address poor sleep in the industry. A good night’s sleep helps us deal with stress, improves resilience and optimises our immune system but the very nature of the work in construction lends itself to poor sleep quality and quantity and the issues affect all levels, from the site operatives through to management level.
Key sleep facts in construction
- Over 80%of construction workers in the UK are not getting enough sleep.
- The construction industry has one of the highestrates of psychosocial health problems, including fatigue and burnout.
- The UK construction industry ranks thirdfor the highest average hours worked per week.
- Only 14%of construction workers in the UK work fewer than 40 hours a week.
- 44%of construction workers in the UK travel around 2-3 hours a day to work and back.
Sleepstation looks at the underlying reasons why people are having problems and has been proven to address even the most severe sleep issues. Dedicated support teams deliver a plan that reflects the issues identified and there can be significant improvement in just four sessions. It has also been shown to be far more effective than pharmaceutical interventions.
Sleepstation offers:
- An understanding of what is normal and what constitutes sleep deprivation
- A personal sleep assessment and expert analysis
- Confidential advice and reports
- Support from an expert team who offer personal advice.
Sarah Bolton, Director of Charitable Services for the charity said, “We launched Sleepstation in autumn of last year and it has been very successful, but we really want to ensure that everyone in construction knows about and has free and easy access to this fantastic resource. We already know that construction workers work in an environment that can be incredibly stressful and emotionally challenging. Add to that, the complications of irregular shift patterns, long working hours, early starts and demanding workloads and it’s not difficult to see why our construction workforce are at such high risk of sleep fatigue.
With our app’s latest addition, within a few moments, users can access the highest level of support without lengthy waiting times to get an appointment with their GP or a GP referral, it’s really that simple”.
Sleepstation complements the huge variety of wellbeing support already available through the charity’s free to download self support app which offers self assessment tools, coping strategies and referral pathways to access expert advice and support. It also ensures that users are signposted to support services local to where they live as well as national help centres.
For more information about Sleepstation visit: https://www.constructionindustryhelpline.com/sleep.
If you need help or support now, or know someone that does, you can call the charity’s 24/7 Construction Industry Helpline on 0345 605 1956, (UK), 1800 939 122, (ROI), download the complementary Self Support App or text HARDHAT to 85258 (UK) or 50808 (ROI).
For more information about any of these free services for the construction industry and their families visit: www.constructionindustryisithelpline.com.
Key support areas of the helpline app include:
Emotional Wellbeing; covering anxiety, depression, anger, suicidal thoughts, sleep and building resilience
Physical Wellbeing; covering aches and pains, nutrition, weight management cancer, alcohol and drug addiction.
Financial Wellbeing; covering budgeting, debt management, tax and legal advice, retirement planning and emergency financial aid.
