Sleep: a good investment in health and safety.

Sleep management is critical to both good health and safety. Most people do not know how much sleep is needed and place themselves and sometime others at risk for medical problems and increased risk for injuries or fatal accidents. Sleep need is discussed and the amount of sleep required as a function of age is provided. Agriculture is a high-risk industry with many injury-related or fatal accidents. SLEEP Model, a Web-based simulation model, was used to predict increase in odds ratio for injuries for farmers and other professionals who tend to work with a buildup of sleep debt because of the nature of their work. Results are given for working the day after a night of no sleep with and without use of caffeine and for a gradual buildup of sleep debt for daily sleep amounts of 0, 2, 4, 5, and 5.5 hours of sleep for a 58-year-old person with predicted sleep need of 6.2 hours per day. Results were also compared to some measurements reported in the literature. Odds ratio of about 10 times normal for average of caffeine and non-caffeine use are associated with working a day after no sleep and no previous sleep debt or with a gradual buildup of sleep debt typical of farmers involved in planting and harvesting seasons. Generally, caffeine use can reduce risks by about 70 times but may have little benefit for a night of no sleep after a buildup of severe sleep debt.