Inaugural Karratha forum to share sleep health insights

A group of experts in the field of sleep health will be in Karratha next week to give mining, oil and gas workers and the wider public fresh insights into the importance of sleep.

The inaugural Pilbara Sleep Health Summit and a separate community event will zero in on the relationship between resources work and sleep health with the aim of generating new ideas about how the industry can help workers improve their sleep.

The headline speaker at the forum will be Oxford University professor Russell Foster, an international expert on circadian rhythms who has written several books on the subject.

Australasian Sleep Association president Peter Eastwood and Dobney Hypertension Centre leader Markus Schlaich will also be presenting.

Joce Young, chief executive of the Royal Perth Hospital Medical Research Foundation, said Australia was in the midst of a “sleep epidemic” and the issues could be particularly pronounced in the resources industry.

“We know that poor sleep, over an extended period of time, has significant negative health and wellbeing outcomes, so there is an absolute imperative to do something about it,” she said.

“We have a mining industry which by its very nature means that people will be working shift work and flying into regional communities from cities, so if we accept that as a given, the question is what can we do within those constraints to have a positive impact, and really engaging the workers in that dialogue is critical if we want it to be successful.”

The summit is being supported by Woodside.

Woodside vice president of health, safety, environment and quality Debbie Morrow said the event was an opportunity for industry to re-evaluate best practice strategies when it came to workers’ sleep health.

“Woodside is currently involved in a lot of growth projects, including the LNG hub on the Burrup Peninsula. It’s a busy time for our staff as well as our contractors,” she said.

“We are working hard to hit our timelines, but we don't want to sacrifice anyone's well-being.”

The Karratha Community Sleep and Heart Health Event will be held at 5pm on Monday, May 20, at the Red Earth Arts Precinct.

It will be followed by the industry-only Pilbara Sleep Health Summit over the next two days.

To book, go to Eventbrite.