Police officers are the day to day unsung heroes of the world; going about the wee hours of the night and making things better and safer for everyone. However, aside from the occupational hazard that comes with crime fighting, thanks to the long and shifting hours of work it seems like sleeping disorders are now considered another occupational hazard.

It was found that police officers suffer from obstructive sleep apnea, insomnia, and shift work disorder that increases the risk of errors, unintended injuries, and motor vehicle crashes, according to Shantha M.W. Rajaratnam, PhD, of Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, and colleagues.

Unfortunately, sleep disorders in police officers are often undiagnosed and often remain untreated. With such a predicament, data has shown that more officers are killed by unintended adverse events than during the commission of felonies.

That is why Rajaratnam and colleagues examined the risk of major sleep disorders and associated adverse outcomes among the North American police officers.

For their study, 4,957 police officers participated in either an online or an on-site screening; 3,693 from United States and Canada participated in the online screening survey and the remaining 1,264 officers from a municipal police department and a state police department participated in the on-site survey. In addition, another 3,545 officers underwent monthly follow-up surveys between July 2005 and December 2007.

The participants had an average age of 38.5 years, and had an average of 12.7 years of police service.

Out of the 4,957 participants, 2,003 of them screened positive for at least one sleep disorder. From the group, 33.6% or 1,666 screened positive for obstructive sleep apnea, which is the abnormal pauses in breathing during sleep; followed by 281, or 6.5% had moderate to severe insomnia, or difficulty sleeping; and 269 or 5.4% had shift work disorder, which is insomnia and excessive sleepiness during the work hours typically for sleep.

When it comes to the effects of these sleep disorders, 10.7% of those who tested positive for a sleep disorder reported having depression as opposed to the 4.4% of those who screened negative; 34.1% reported burnout as opposed to 17.9% of those without sleep disorders; and 20% reported falling asleep while driving versus 7.9% who don't have sleeping disorders.

And compared to those who screened negative, those screened positive were more likely to report making important administrative errors; falling asleep while driving; making errors or committing safety violations due to fatigue; having uncontrolled anger towards a citizen or suspect; incurring citizen complaints; absenteeism; or falling asleep during meetings.

With these findings, the authors of the study wrote that sleeping disorders among officers were associated with adverse health, safety, and performance outcomes.

Because having sleeping disorders is troublesome, and even dangerous, how can people tell if they have it? According to HelpGuide.org, a person has a sleeping disorder if they are:

- Irritable or sleeping during the day

- Find it difficult staying awake when sitting still, watching TV, or reading

- Falling asleep or feel very tired while driving

- Difficulty concentrating

- React slowly

- Have trouble controlling emotions

If a person is feeling those warning signs of a disorder, it is recommended to go to sleep at the same time each night and to get up at the same time each morning. Other things that should be remembered are to avoid caffeine nicotine, and alcohol; exercising regularly; and not eating a heavy meal late in the day, WebMD.com suggested.