A Good Night’s Sleep Could Make Your Better at Your Job
Do you have trouble sleeping? Well you are not alone, it is believed that approximately 40 percent of Americans never sleep the recommended seven to nine hours by the National Sleep Foundation (NSF – sleepfoundation.org)
Unfortunately, not getting enough shut-eye can contribute to a host of problems related to your personal health but can also really affect your performance at work.
Data collected by NSF report that twenty-seven percent of workers admit that they have trouble concentrating on their job when they haven’t slept well and 20 percent aren’t as productive as they could be. Dr. Brendan Lucey, director fo the Sleep Medicine Center at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis states that “if you’re tired and inattentive, take longer to produce a certain quality of work and have to go back and fix errors that you’ve made, your work is going to suffer. If you’re well rested, you’ll be more efficient at producing high-quality work, achieving your potential.”
The amount of work days lost to sickness in the US is staggering. Your body uses sleep to recover from the stresses our body endures when we are awake, therefore without enough rest the body’s immune system is more likely to break down and you become more susceptible to illness. Losing work days due to sickness could easily be avoided by getting more sleep. “Sleep deprivation suppresses immune function,” says Lucey. “It decreases your body’s ability to respond to colds and infections, and colds may last longer.”
Data also collected by NSF report that forty percent of people who are sleep deprived admit that they are far more likely to be impatient with people whether that be co-workers or customers. Not only will improved sleep improve workforce relations but customers will be more likely to have a positive experience from someone who refreshed as opposed to tired and irritable.
A few tips for getting a good night sleep include:-
- Taking a hot shower – the heat and subsequent cooling help you produce melatonin, a sleep-promoting hormone.
- Keep a pen and paper by your bed – if you can’t sleep because you are trying to solve some issues at work, or are worried about forgetting something important, writing them down takes the issues off your mind, allowing you to relax.
- Don’t check your phone – the blue light from your smartphone tricks your brain into thinking that you shouldn’t feel sleepy.