ÐÓ°ÉÐÔ°É

It has been more than a week since the road closures in the Three Miles Area of St Andrew, and persons are feeling the effects of the traffic pile-up.

Many persons in some parts of St Catherine have to get up as early as 4 a.m. in order to get to work on time in Kingston and St Andrew. In the evenings, it is no better, as they have often suffered in traffic, sometimes getting home as late as 9 or even 10 p.m.

One woman who works at a Corporate Area bank is not yet concerned about her health, but she told THE STAR that she is exhausted by the time she gets to work in the morning.

"In my workplace, we not supposed to be sleeping, but from bout Wednesday me haffi a buss a one and two nap during my lunchtime enuh, because I don't want to be talking to my clients and be falling asleep at the same time. That would get me fired," she said.

While the issue might seem relatively harmless, Dr Winston Dawes told THE STAR that there are negative side effects of not getting enough sleep. He said that it may create a slippery-slope effect that will be very harmful to an individual in the long run.

"When you are exhausted and don't sleep, the stress hormone that you build up during the day is not dissipating during the night, and then the long hours in traffic compounds it, and people tend to eat comfort food which adds to your risk of diabetes. So, it has very serious consequences where health is concerned," he said.

Similarly, Dr Shane Alexis said that heavy traffic does not only affect a person physically but mentally as well because good health is a combination of these factors.

"From a physical standpoint, it may cause problems with circulation or a person may be at risk for developing a blood clot as well as weight gain," he said.

According to Alexis, some of these issues are in extreme circumstances. He said that the many hours of sitting for persons who work in offices may cause poor circulation, because after sitting at one's desk for hours, they are forced to do more hours sitting in traffic.

He told THE STAR that exhaustion plays a big role in causing a person's mental health to deteriorate.

"I have had several patients try to come after work to see me, and they are falling asleep. It is really difficult getting up, getting a family ready at 4 in the morning to get to work and then face similar challenges when going home. A lack of sleep may lead to poor concentration, low productivity at work," he said.

Like some of Alexis' clients, Joan, who works at a pharmacy along Constant Spring Road in St Andrew, said that she, too, is exhausted after a day's work. She told THE STAR that she has been experiencing fatigue for the past three days because she hasn't been getting enough sleep.

"It is not easy because the traffic drains you. By the time you reach work, and then you work for eight hours and have to fight to go back home," said the St Catherine resident.

Meanwhile, Simone, who has to get to work at 8 a.m. each day, said that she has to be taking sleeping pills in order to get a good night's rest.

"I had to go to the doctor on Friday because I could not manage. I have three children at home, and even though my husband is around, I have to make time for them. Sometimes I don't leave work till 6 or 6:30 p.m., and I get caught in the traffic," she said.

However, Dr Dawes told our news team that sleeping pills do not give the body the natural sleep it needs.