Sleep Deprivation Has Negative Effects For Work

Have you ever had a bad night’s sleep and gone to work the next day feeling both tired and irritable? Well a new study by the Rotterdam School of Management found that feeling may be more common than you think as it discovered that a single night of bad sleep can cause erratic and bad behaviour in the workplace.

Besides from the obvious worries that tired workers can bring such as a lack of concentration and a dip in productivity levels, sleep deprivation can affect behaviours too. The study says that a lack of sleep can result in lower levels of self-control which directly results in unwanted activity such as being rude or even escalating as far as stealing.

A Lack Of Sleep Affects Productivity

Being sleep deprived is not just having detrimental effects on the employees but can also have negative effects on a company as well. Research from Rand Europe in 2016 found that sleep-deprived workers faced a risk of death and also were costing the UK economy £40 billion a year which worked out at around 1.86% of GDP.

Lack of sleep can also affect work on a more personal level, as employees will often use facial expressions to gauge how people are feeling in the workplace. Sleep deprivation can negatively affect this ability as research found that one night of sleep deprivation resulted in a reduced ability to identify expressions such as happiness and sadness.

It is understandable then that ensuring that employees get a good sleep should become a priority for companies across the United Kingdom. A well rested employee will not only bring a calmer and more positive working environment, but will also provide increase levels of productivity to help reduce work loss.

How To Get A Good Night’s Rest

The obvious solution to this is to simply get a good night of sleep, however for many people this may be easier said than done. Some people may suffer from a disorder that affects their sleep quality, whereas others may find that children or simply outside noises can make a good night’s sleep hard to find.

The NHS recommends around eight hours of what is classed as ‘good quality’ sleep, though some people may of course need more whereas some will need less. If you are waking up tired and then proceed to spend the rest of the day tired, it’s probable that you are not getting as much sleep as you need.

There are many reasons as to why people can’t sleep properly, but there are also many different things can be done to try and increase the likelihood of getting a good night’s sleep. For those that live in towns and cities, you may be accustomed to your room being a lot lighter than it should be at night due to lighting from outside.

To combat this, buy curtains that will keep your room as dark as possible and ensure that you have all lights turned off. It can also be important to keep your room at the correct temperature, as often a bad night’s sleep can caused because you are too hot or cold to sleep properly.

An article that appeared on OPInfo Blog in 2016 discussed how using technology before sleep can impact the levels of sleep you get, so it’s important to remember to avoid using technology for up to an hour before you go to bed.

There are many other ways that can help to improve the levels of sleep you get and there is a great list of useful tips on the Sleep Council website that cover a variety of causes including stress, exercise and much more.