Sleep patterns have been a hot topic around here lately and perhaps it's no coincidence that I received an email today from the Better Sleep Council. Here are their thoughts and stats:
Each night, too many Americans get poor or inadequate sleep. And each day, sleep-deprived employees go to work unaware of the toll that poor sleep is taking on their productivity and job satisfaction. To uncover the extent to which restless nights are affecting employees, the Better Sleep Council (BSC) recently sponsored a national sleep and work productivity survey. Key findings include:
Burning the midnight oil = Burning out at work
- Eight-in-ten Americans report at least one negative professional side-effect of getting a poor night’s sleep. Most notably, workers say
- Clear thinking or judgment (31 percent)
- Remembering important details (30 percent)
- Co-worker or customer relationships (23 percent)
- Punctuality to work and/or meetings (21 percent)
- Only a fraction (27 percent) of Americans get the recommended 8 hours of sleep each work night. (7.5 to 8.5 is optimal)
- 17 percent of Americans say they only get 5 hours of sleep Monday through Friday.
Studies show that getting five hours of sleep a night for one week induces an impairment level equivalent to a blood alcohol level of 0.1 percent; that’s considered legally drunk in most states.
- While an overwhelming majority of workers (74 percent) said they would physically remain at work and would be unlikely to leave early when suffering from sleep deprivation, most report effects in their mental alertness:
- Being in a bad mood and unfriendly (44 percent)
- Yawning often and feeling likely to fall asleep at work (39 percent)
- Having lapses in judgment and difficulty remembering info (36 percent)
- Finding themselves "spacing out"(33 percent)
- When feeling sleepy during the day, only 13 percent of Americans say they would make an effort to get more shut-eye at night to feel more awake and productive during the day; they are turning instead to:
- Caffeine Jolt. Drink coffee, soda or other caffeinated drinks (33 percent)
- Fresh Air. Go outside for fresh air (18 percent)
- Siesta Solution. Take a nap during the day (17 percent)
- Work-it-Out. Exercise during the day (9 percent)
So where are you on this stat map? Surely you fall into one of these categories. If you have a remedy that doesn't include a gallon of coffee, let us know in the comments. I mentioned how my body dictates my sleep schedule, but is that working for you?
