Georgia Injury Law Blog
Too little sleep could increase a person’s risk of suffering not just auto accident – related personal injuries, but also personal injuries from slip and fall accidents as well as personal injuries during sports.
In a new study, researchers focused on 3 different types of personal injuries, including injuries caused in sports, during slip and fall accidents as well as injuries caused when a person is involved in an auto accident, and their link to sleep deprivation. They found that lack of sufficient sleep affected the risk of preventable personal injuries.
The researchers looked at three different categories of sleep – very little sleep which is sleep below 4 hours in duration, short sleep which is sleep of between 5 and 6 hours in duration, healthy sleep which is sleep of between 7 and 8 hours and long sleep which is sleep of greater than 9 hours. They also divided sleep quality into three categories, including the ability to fall and stay asleep, feel refreshed and rested while waking up, and medication use.
Overall, they found that 9% of the adults in the study had suffered a preventable personal injury, and out of these, 47% had suffered a slip and fall – related injury, while 29% had suffered a sports injury and 6% had suffered an injury in an auto accident. Not surprisingly, adults with very little sleep and short sleep had a much higher rate of being injured in car accidents. What was surprising was that even those who had long sleep of more than 9 hours in duration were also likely to have a much higher risk of suffering an injury.
Overall, people who had very short sleep of below 4 hours had a 37% higher risk of suffering an injury in an auto accident while those who had between 5 to 6 hours of sleep had a 15% higher risk of suffering an injury. Those who had very heavy sleep of above 9 hours were approximately 22% more likely to suffer injuries in an auto accident.
Persons who reported never waking up feeling refreshed were 49% more likely to suffer injuries, while those who were sometimes rested on waking up were 36% more likely to suffer injuries in an accident. Medication use was also a significant factor in predicting injury risk. In the study, persons who took medications every night were 36% more likely to suffer injuries in an accident, while those who took medications only on some nights were 24% more likely to suffer injuries, compared to those who never took any medications. Medication side effects can include dizziness, confusion, lack of alertness, disorientation and other factors that can increase the risks of suffering an injury.
The Atlanta slip and fall accident lawyers at Katz Personal Injury Lawyers are dedicated to the representation of persons who have suffered injuries in slip and fall accidents in the metro Atlanta region and across the state of Georgia. If you or a loved one have suffered injuries in a fall, talk to a lawyer at our firm and discuss your legal options for a claim for damages. You may qualify for damages that include medical costs, lost income and other types of compensation.