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From yesterday's Cyprus Mail
EU plans sleep clampdown in bid to cut down on accidents
By Jean Christou
FIRST it was clampdowns on smoking and obesity. Now the EU is planning to make sure its 500 million citizens have eight hours’ sleep a night, ostensibly to reduce road and work accidents.
A feasibility study for an EU-wide introduction a ‘breathalyser-type’ device to scan the brain waves of motorists and workers is already under way and will be released next year.
For motorists, the nano technology would be used randomly by police early in the mornings. As well as scanning brain waves, it can test drivers’ co-ordination, and a small camera can monitor a driver’s eye movements, looking out for repeated blinking, which can be evidence of tiredness.
Some EU countries such as Austria have already experimented with an earlier more limited version of the technology and several member states have included sleepiness as a motoring offence that is on a par with drink driving. “Getting less than four hours of sleep equals an alcohol level in your blood of 0.5 per mille,†neurologist Manfred Walzl told Die Presse newspaper.
The newer system named ‘Sensation’, which the EU is backing, can also be used by employers to monitor a worker’s productivity levels, and their safety if they work in industry. A scan could tell if an employee was fit to operate heavy machinery or work on scaffolding.
Thousands of man days and billions of euros are being lost in the labour market each year due to excessive sleepiness, according to the European Commission. It estimates that 20 per cent of EU citizens are affected and the number is growing.
The country by country Eurobarometer that precipitated the study showed that the EU was especially concerned with the late hours kept by many Cypriots compared with their European counterparts.
“While citizens in Finland are going to bed between 9pm and 10pm, Cypriots are going out for a meal at that time,†said the Eurobarometer.
“Cypriots go to bed later than any other European citizens. This is likely to impact negatively on the health of future generations.â€
The report expressed particular concern for Cypriot children under 10, the majority of whom were allowed to stay up late to the point where their future health was in danger.
Lack of sleep can lead to high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes, heart failure and depression. Children who don’t get enough sleep can also become obese.
A mandatory EU-wide sleep regulation would not only cut health costs, and road and work accidents, but would also reduce domestic energy consumption, a statement from the European Commission said yesterday.
Under a future directive, not only would it be possible for people to lose their driving licences and jobs through lack of sleep but the technology would be available to organise a force of ‘sleep police’ equipped with special heat-seeking vans that can detect movement within peoples’ homes from the street.
“The force would operate in the same way as regular police officers and carry out surprise ‘raids’ in randomly selected areas,†said EU Assistant Deputy Commissioner for Health and Safety, Reep van Weinkle.
“Sitting in the dark while pretending to be in bed will not work and people should know they could face heavy fines for violating the sleep directive.â€
Van Weinkle said the Commission was still working on what hours would be the most effective in different age groups.
He said that a pan-European research consortium, led by the University of Helsinki, would apply the latest technologies and knowledge to unmask the secrets of sleep disorders and learn more about the mechanisms of sleep regulation.
The extensive EU-financed sleep project ‘Enough Sleep’ began in Spring 2005 and will end around the same time as the Sensation feasibility study next year, after which the directive will be drawn up, the Commission said.
Former EU Health Commissioner Marcos Kyprianou, who returned to Cyprus to take over the Foreign Ministry position, has worked long and hard in Brussels and at home to clamp down on smoking and obesity.
He said yesterday he was delighted that the Sleep Directive, which he had a hand in initiating, was moving ahead so quickly.
“I am sure that it will be possible one day to change the unhealthy habits of my compatriots,†he said.
Privacy advocates on the island were however left speechless and unable to comment.
By Jean Christou
FIRST it was clampdowns on smoking and obesity. Now the EU is planning to make sure its 500 million citizens have eight hours’ sleep a night, ostensibly to reduce road and work accidents.
A feasibility study for an EU-wide introduction a ‘breathalyser-type’ device to scan the brain waves of motorists and workers is already under way and will be released next year.
For motorists, the nano technology would be used randomly by police early in the mornings. As well as scanning brain waves, it can test drivers’ co-ordination, and a small camera can monitor a driver’s eye movements, looking out for repeated blinking, which can be evidence of tiredness.
Some EU countries such as Austria have already experimented with an earlier more limited version of the technology and several member states have included sleepiness as a motoring offence that is on a par with drink driving. “Getting less than four hours of sleep equals an alcohol level in your blood of 0.5 per mille,†neurologist Manfred Walzl told Die Presse newspaper.
The newer system named ‘Sensation’, which the EU is backing, can also be used by employers to monitor a worker’s productivity levels, and their safety if they work in industry. A scan could tell if an employee was fit to operate heavy machinery or work on scaffolding.
Thousands of man days and billions of euros are being lost in the labour market each year due to excessive sleepiness, according to the European Commission. It estimates that 20 per cent of EU citizens are affected and the number is growing.
The country by country Eurobarometer that precipitated the study showed that the EU was especially concerned with the late hours kept by many Cypriots compared with their European counterparts.
“While citizens in Finland are going to bed between 9pm and 10pm, Cypriots are going out for a meal at that time,†said the Eurobarometer.
“Cypriots go to bed later than any other European citizens. This is likely to impact negatively on the health of future generations.â€
The report expressed particular concern for Cypriot children under 10, the majority of whom were allowed to stay up late to the point where their future health was in danger.
Lack of sleep can lead to high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes, heart failure and depression. Children who don’t get enough sleep can also become obese.
A mandatory EU-wide sleep regulation would not only cut health costs, and road and work accidents, but would also reduce domestic energy consumption, a statement from the European Commission said yesterday.
Under a future directive, not only would it be possible for people to lose their driving licences and jobs through lack of sleep but the technology would be available to organise a force of ‘sleep police’ equipped with special heat-seeking vans that can detect movement within peoples’ homes from the street.
“The force would operate in the same way as regular police officers and carry out surprise ‘raids’ in randomly selected areas,†said EU Assistant Deputy Commissioner for Health and Safety, Reep van Weinkle.
“Sitting in the dark while pretending to be in bed will not work and people should know they could face heavy fines for violating the sleep directive.â€
Van Weinkle said the Commission was still working on what hours would be the most effective in different age groups.
He said that a pan-European research consortium, led by the University of Helsinki, would apply the latest technologies and knowledge to unmask the secrets of sleep disorders and learn more about the mechanisms of sleep regulation.
The extensive EU-financed sleep project ‘Enough Sleep’ began in Spring 2005 and will end around the same time as the Sensation feasibility study next year, after which the directive will be drawn up, the Commission said.
Former EU Health Commissioner Marcos Kyprianou, who returned to Cyprus to take over the Foreign Ministry position, has worked long and hard in Brussels and at home to clamp down on smoking and obesity.
He said yesterday he was delighted that the Sleep Directive, which he had a hand in initiating, was moving ahead so quickly.
“I am sure that it will be possible one day to change the unhealthy habits of my compatriots,†he said.
Privacy advocates on the island were however left speechless and unable to comment.
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