Fed chair says sleep webinar provides ‘one of biggest wellbeing boosts possible’ to members

7 March 2024

Nottinghamshire Police Federation chair Simon Riley has encouraged members to take advantage of a two-part webinar offering expert advice on the art of effectively managing sleep.

The webinar saw Oscar Kilo, the National Police Wellbeing Service, team up with sleep expert Dr Sophie Bostock for online sessions in front of a Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) audience on 30 January and 20 February.

“Unfortunately, we will all know a colleague who talks about their poor sleep. Perhaps we are even that person ourselves. It is part of the price we pay for high levels of dedication to our jobs,” said Simon.

“But this webinar has very importantly told us that it doesn’t have to be this way. Members can use the information to improve the quality of their rest.”

In Part 1 of the webinar, Dr Bostock shared her expertise on the systems that control sleep and used examples from colleagues in policing to help audience members understand what healthy sleep management can look like in the profession.

Highlighting the Catch-22 situation that can arise from behaviour being more difficult to change as sleep deprivation worsens, the TedX speaker emphasised the need for change that is easy to put into practice.

“It’s difficult for police officers to switch off from work as soon as they get home.  It’s not as easy as just doing it – they need to know how to do it and the sessions have provided them with realistic advice,” Simon continued.

Discussed in Part 2 was the way in which initial sleep problems can develop into longer-term disorders, such as insomnia, that police staff may be susceptible to due to factors like shift work and operational stressors.

Both parts of the webinar are available for Federation members to watch for free on the Oscar Kilo website and Simon says they will benefit every viewer.

“Those who attended the sessions have given themselves the knowledge to achieve one of the biggest wellbeing boosts possible – I would urge everyone else to do the same.”

Members should log into their Oscar Kilo account, or create an account for free, to access both Part 1 and Part 2 of the webinar.

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