More than 3 million people in the UK work night shifts, however, getting enough shut eye can be a real challenge as on average shift workers lose one to four hours of sleep per night, often resulting in their overall physical and mental health being affected.
As part of ongoing product development research for its blackout blinds range, leading UK blinds company, 247 Blinds, is on a mission to help Britain’s night workers – who account for around one-in-nine of all UK employees – achieve a better day’s sleep, and is calling for five registered shift employees to apply for the ultimate dream job as a ‘Professional Sleeper’.
Speaking about the study, Jason Peterkin, director at 247 Blinds said, “The last ten years has seen a significant growth in the number of people working through the night. Whilst we’re happy to keep on manufacturing and selling blackout blinds to shift workers, we feel it’s important to understand more about the nuances of daytime sleep.
“By undertaking this important study, we can use real-life scenarios and data to enable us to develop the most effective products, whilst sharing our wider findings to help the British public overcome the challenge of daytime sleep.”
What does the job role entail?
The envious title of Professional Sleeper will see the selected candidates enrolled into a nationwide study to better understand the patterns and disturbances of night workers.
Five successful applicants, of varying ages and professions, will each receive £500 for taking part in the study. This will see them fitted with sleep monitoring equipment and partaking in a variety of changes to their usual routine, advised by a sleep specialist, such as; adjusting their sleeping temperature, light source, sound and diet.
247 Blinds spoke to sleep expert, Dr Deborah Lee from Dr Fox Online Pharmacy, who provided her valuable insight into why a good day’s sleep is so vital for shift workers:
“The importance of good quality sleep must not be underestimated. Fatigue is unpleasant and difficult, but poor sleep on a regular basis can have serious and irreversible health implications, including metabolic problems, heart disease, gastrointestinal difficulties, obesity, some cancers and poor mental health.
“It’s crucial to understand that successful sleep during the day isn’t just about recreating night, as our bodies aren’t programmed to sleep during this time. This study will provide insights into the factors that truly impact rest during daylight hours, and could really make a difference to the productivity and wellbeing of the UK’s growing night shift workforce.”
Who can apply?
Shift work refers to any work schedule that falls outside the hours of 7 am and 6 pm and includes those who work evening, night and early mornings.
Common jobs involving shift work may include:
- Delivery drivers
- Police officers
- Healthcare workers
- Taxi drivers
- Security guards
- Manufacturing industry workers
The team at 247 Blinds are looking for anyone who works shifts through the night and as a result, sleeps throughout the day – to help them test out various methods and find the ultimate sleep routine.
In order to apply you must simply be a regular night shift worker and willing to trial different methods to allow 247 Blinds to measure the quality of your sleep – the ultimate ‘dreamy’ job! Shift workers can apply here until the 21 October, 2021.
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