A sleep scientist and a movie production expert blog about how Hollywood deals with crazy work schedules, reports Psychology Today.
Many industries, especially in transportation and medicine, have attempted to create rules to ensure that the public is protected from sleep-deprived operators. Would you want the pilot of your flight to only have slept four hours? Would you want to drive near a tractor-trailer when the person operating the vehicle has been on the job for 16 consecutive hours? Would you want a doctor who has stayed awake for 36 hours to perform surgery on you?
Similarly, in the movie production industry there are several factors that impact sleep, including very long work hours that force a person to stay awake when the brain’s circadian clock is expecting sleep. So, what is the harm for someone working on a movie or TV production set for 16 hours?
