Answering chronic distress calls and maintaining calm in these stressful situations is the expectation of the various men and women working as law enforcement officers. Pollock and Augusto (2021) remarked that officers are exposed to high demands in environments filled with unpredictable danger. However, something that is not discussed much is the poor sleep quality that affects the officers due to the allostatic load created in their bodies to respond to such distressing calls. According to Corrigan et al. (2021), officers present with increased growth hormone levels, prolactin, cortisol, and adrenocorticotropic hormone. Of all these hormones increase in the body of an officer, cortisol is one to focus on when talking about sleep. Fekedulegn et al. (2018) described cortisol as the end result of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, which assists in the body’s ability to adjust with stress changes. Changes in cortisol levels affect the circadian rhythm (Fekedulegn et al., 2018). As per Fekedulegn et al. (2018), the cortisol awakening response (CAR) occurs when a rise in cortisol levels immediately develops after an individual awakens and is followed by sharp declines and stable changes throughout the day.
CAR becomes abnormal with officers and their shift work. Abnormal CAR has been linked to cardiovascular disease, susceptibility to infectious diseases, and psychological stress (Fekedulegn et al., 2018). Physical activity can assist in the management of CAR. The beneficial effects of an officer’s physical activity can be seen in the improvement of physical and mental outcomes that develop due to the allostatic load carried by an officer (Mumford et al., 2021). Mumford et al. (2021) remarked that if officers commit to exercise beyond the academy via endurance and resistance activities, biological changes can occur in sleep, hypertension, high blood cholesterol, diabetes, and gastrointestinal conditions. Additionally, mindfulness stress reduction is another effective way to manage CAR. Mindfulness stress reduction has been presented to reduce the cortisol levels within officers (Christopher et al., 2016). Christopher et al. (2016) noted that mindfulness stress reduction trainings had displayed changes in officers that presented with increased cognitive and biological reduction of tension and anxiety.
References
Christopher, M. S., Goerling, R. J., Rogers, B. S., Hunsinger, M., Baron, G., Bergman, A. L., & Zava, D. T. (2016). A pilot study evaluating the effectiveness of a mindfulness-based intervention on cortisol awakening response and health outcomes among law enforcement officers. Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology, 31(1), 15-28. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11896-015-9161-x
Corrigan, S. L., Roberts, S., Warmington, S., Drain, J., & Main, L. C. (2021). Monitoring stress and allostatic load in first responders and tactical operators using heart rate variability: a systematic review. BMC public health, 21(1), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-021-11595-x
Fekedulegn, D., Innes, K., Andrew, M. E., Tinney-Zara, C., Charles, L. E., Allison, P., … & Knox, S. S. (2018). Sleep quality and the cortisol awakening response (CAR) among law enforcement officers: The moderating role of leisure time physical activity. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 95, 158-169. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2018.05.034
Mumford, E. A., Liu, W., Taylor, B. G., & Ramey, S. (2021). Profiles of US Law Enforcement Officers’ Diagnosed Health Conditions: Results From a Probability-Based Sample of Officers. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 63(5), 422-431. https://doi.org/10.1097/JOM.0000000000002162
Osorio, C., Probert, T., Johns, E., Young, A.H., & Robbins, I. (2017). Adapting to stress: Understanding the neurobiology of resilience. Behavioral Medicine, 43(4), 307-322. https://doi.org/10.1080/08964289.2016.1170661
Pollock, L. D., & Augusto, D. (2021). Protecting others, compassion, and sacrifice: The toll of disaster policing on law enforcement officers in the United States. The Police Journal, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/0032258X211044708
Teresa Guzman, LCSW 