Work performance is strongly affected by how much we sleep, where we sleep, and the quality of that sleep. We never really catch up with our sleep as the old thinking goes. We’re either sleep deprived or we’re not. Needing more sleep when overly tired is commonplace, but even then, sleeping too much can have negative effects too.
Here are three ways that better sleep helps to improve work performance.
Rest for the Weary Limbs & Back
When you’ve had a full day at the office or you’ve been moving around a lot, your body shows signs that it’s tired. That’s especially true if you fit some exercise in after work, which is a healthy choice but can make you bone tired afterward too.
Sitting at your desk is also a problem when you don’t get up and move around at regular intervals. Sitting with a poor posture or having insufficient lower lumbar back support can lead to a painful back over time. When you sleep in a position that puts further pressure on your back – like being a back sleeper – then having a restful night’s sleep is difficult to achieve.
You should have a mattress and pillow that suit your typical sleeping position. The firmness of the mattress and height of the pillow are important to provide correct support for the sleeping posture and keep the neck at the appropriate angle. There are many suitable sleeping products reviewed over at The Sleep Sherpa which can help with this.
Clearer Mind Through Mental Reorganization
During sleep periods lasting more than one hour, the brain starts to cycle in and out of a phase known as REM sleep. This is where the body repairs itself by attending to any injuries or minor scrapes perhaps picked up during a sporting competition or a workout. Along with body repairs, the brain is reorganized to take the day’s events and store them as a long-term memory. This way, the mind is clear to proceed with the next day without being cluttered with an unprocessed previous day.
With insufficient REM sleep, it’s easy to feel unrested and irritable. The body’s immune system suffers, so we’re more susceptible to picking up illness or viruses, and your thinking won’t be clear-headed either.
Won’t Get Tired Halfway Through the Afternoon
Without enough sleep, work performance is affected and mental fatigue sets in much earlier in the day. Workers will start to yawn because they are showing signs of being overly tired from the night before and it’s starting to catch up with them. When they stay up half the night at a club or work very late, then it badly affects them the following day.
If you tend to burn the midnight oil thinking you’re being highly productive, think again. As studies of the medical profession have shown, people who work during the night make three times the number of medical errors (that prove fatal for patients) than the daytime workers.
When caring about higher work performance, getting enough sleep should always be the first line of defense.
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