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If you’re not performing at work as well as you’d like, it could be because you’re not getting enough quality sleep at night. Sufficient sleep is essential for a healthy body and optimal performance throughout the work day. But with so many disruptions encroaching on our sleeping environment, getting a good night’s sleep has become somewhat of a luxury in the 21st Century and it’s having a negative impact on our performance at work.
Chronic sleep deprivation is common among workers in our society and has been associated with negative work outcomes, including occupational accidents, absenteeism and presenteeism (going to work sick)¹. A lack of quality sleep at night can lead to fatigue, learning difficulties and poor concentration during the day. People who suffer from daytime sleepiness are more accident prone and more likely to make mistakes and bad decisions².
Sleep deprivation can impair work performance in the following ways:
- Reduced alertness
- Shortened attention span
- Slower than normal reaction time
- Poorer judgement
- Reduced awareness of the environment and situation
- Reduced decision-making skills
- Poorer memory
- Reduced concentration
- Increased likelihood of mentally ‘stalling’ or fixating on one thought
- Increased likelihood of moodiness and bad temper
- Reduced work efficiency
- Loss of motivation
- Errors of omission – making a mistake by forgetting to do something
- Errors of commission – making a mistake by doing something, but choosing the wrong option
- Microsleep – brief periods of involuntary sleeping that range from a few seconds to a few minutes in duration.
Some of the leading causes of sleep deprivation can be found in our sleeping environment. For example, if the bedroom is too hot or too cold, you have noisy neighbours, your partner snores, or because you’re sleeping in an uncomfortable bed.
Sleeping on a good quality bed such as the Sealy Posturepedic Exquisite™ with outstanding support, will have you escaping to the luxury of a deep, restful sleep every night. This bed combines precision engineering with outstanding aesthetics. Exclusively developed and made only in Australia, the Sealy Posturepedic Exquisite™ features the unique ReST™ coil (Responsive Support Technology) designed to perfectly cradle and support every part of your body.
Once you have a good quality bed to sleep in, you should develop a sleep ritual such as a warm bath before bed, or listening to soft music. You should also ensure your bedroom is cool (about 16 – 18°C), dark and quiet. Your bed is made for sleeping so avoid doing anything else in bed, like reading, watching TV, working, eating etc.
For more information about the Sealy Posturepedic Exquisite visit the website: www.sealy.com.au/exquisite-collection.html
References:
1. Sleep disorders and work performance: findings from the 2008 National Sleep Foundation Sleep in America poll (Journal of Sleep Research) http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2869.2010.00890.x/full accessed 7 April 2014.
2. Sleep deprivation (Better Health Channel) http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Sleep_deprivation accessed 7 April 2014.