Sleep Better to Work Better

Do you find yourself nodding off in meetings? Do you struggle to suppress your yawns while sitting at your desk? If yes, then it probably won't surprise you to know that you're not getting enough sleep.

When life gets busy with erratic work schedules, project deadlines and other daily responsibilities, sleep is often the first thing to give up. We get so caught up in all the chaos that sleep gets pushed down to the bottom of our to-do list. Moreover, for many of us, the line between work and home life gets blurred. With the hope of getting more done or having to work less the next day, we push ourselves to work overtime, even at the cost of not spending time with loved ones at home.

But do the extra hours really pay off? Studies show that it probably doesn't. In fact, not getting a sufficient amount of sleep interferes with performance and productivity at work. As a result, even if you do work more or bring assignments home, you're less likely to give your all. When you're sleep deprived, your brain is less creative and won't be able process or retain information effectively. To make matters worse, you may end up consuming copious amounts of caffeine in order to make up for lack of sleep.

Considering all this, it's no wonder that not getting enough sleep can negatively impact your mental and physical well-being, which in turn affects your ability to work efficiently.

The Cost of Sleeping Less

While sleeping less is unlikely to cause much damage in the short-term, consistently following unhealthy sleep habits can have several consequences.

Inadequate sleep can lead to burnout

Research has established that poor sleep quality can put one at risk of having a burnout, which is the state of complete mental and physical exhaustion. In fact, studies have shown that the main risk factor that predicted burnout was inadequate sleep. Sleep restores daily functioning and acts as a buffer for the adverse impact of stress. On the other hand, sleep deprivation causes you to be more vulnerable to stressful or emotionally demanding situations. As a result, when you don't get sufficient sleep, you're likely to feel less productive and motivated.

Inadequate sleep can weaken your immune system

Your immune system is strongly affected by the quality and quantity of sleep your body gets. Not sleeping enough can actually make you more vulnerable to diseases. In fact, research has shown that people who get less than seven hours of sleep per night are three times as likely as their well-rested counterparts to come down with a cold. As a result of this, you might take longer sick leaves, which can in turn increase your worries about getting work done on time.

Inadequate sleep can make you forgetful

When you don't get a good night's rest, it can affect your ability to correctly remember information. Numerous studies show that sleep helps you to process, store, and retrieve information from memory. Importantly, getting some sleep after learning new information can help you remember it better. So when you're sleep deprived, you're more likely to make errors or forget important information while at work.

Inadequate sleep can increase the risk of mental health concerns

At the workplace, mental health concerns such as depression, anxiety, and stress are already on the rise. When sleep needs are persistently ignored, you might become more susceptible to such emotional struggles. This can reduce your job satisfaction, and make you feel disinterested or unmotivated to work on new projects.

Inadequate sleep can make you more irritable

The fact of the matter is that no one can keep up a happy mood when they haven't slept well. If you're sleep deprived, you're more likely to snap at others and get annoyed at the smallest of things. Because of this, you might say or do things that you may later come to regret.

As can be seen, current research clearly indicates that disturbed sleep results in poor functioning at work. If you find that your performance at work is deteriorating, then it might be time to make changes to your sleep habits. Take a look at some of our recommendations below:

Create a realistic work schedule - Make sure to create a plan that doesn't overwhelm you. You can list down your tasks based on their urgency and importance, and also note down the amount of time it would take for you to complete that task. Set a time at which you will end work, and stick to this deadline.

Maintain a sleep schedule - Create a sleep schedule that will help you regulate your sleep cycle. Make sure that you sleep and wake up at the same time each day - even on the weekends! This will help ensure that you feel energised and productive at work, instead of groggy or lethargic.

Don't bring work home - Working late at night is likely to come in the way of sleep. So it's important that once you switch off your laptop, you put a pause on work for the day.

Create a sleep ritual - Create a ritual that consists of soothing activities you can engage in before bed. You could listen to music, drink a warm beverage or do some yoga. This will help you feel relaxed and at ease after a long day at work.

Don't force sleep - If you're laying in bed for longer than 20-minutes, get up and do something else. Instead of worrying about the fact that you need to wake up early for work, distract your mind by reading for a few minutes or meditating. This will calm you down - making it easier to fall asleep.

Greet each day with positivity - When you start your day on a positive note, you're likely to feel motivated and uplifted throughout the day. As soon as you wake up, open your blinds to invite some sunlight, think about things you're looking forward to in the day and get your coffee or tea brewing.

Balancing your schedule well so that you can get a sufficient amount of sleep can help to ensure that you are well rested, healthy and productive the next day! Even simple changes to your sleep habits can make a significant difference in your performance at work.

References

https://content.sph.harvard.edu/ecpe/CourseMats/IPHM/2012_09_27_1350_VELABUENO_02.pdf

http://news.msu.edu/media/documents/2011/09/7f71a5c3-a0a8-4b82-8b29-f0a02fcdcb37.pdf

http://www.cell.com/current-biology/abstract/S0960-9822%2810%2900352-0

http://blogs.abcnews.com/health_insider/2009/01/how-your-zzzs-c.htmlhttp://www.norcalbaa.org/uploads/NCBAA_ARTICLES_20110825_Alertness_Solutions_Cost_of_Poor_Sleep.pdf

http://escholarship.org/uc/item/8zp518hc#page-27