Catastrophes, Sleep, and Public Policy: Consensus Report

Following the 1986 annual meeting of the Association of Professional Sleep Societies (Columbus, Ohio, U.S.A., June 15–22, 1986), a committee of scientists was formed to review recent reports and related information on the role of human sleep and brain clocks (time-of-day variation in physiology and alertness) in the occurrence of medical and human error catastrophes. This is a report of the committee's findings and recommendations.