Sleep Well, Work Better: Understanding the Link Between Sleep and Productivity

The quality and quantity of sleep you get at night can have a significant impact on how you feel the next day. As a working professional, your performance at work is directly connected to how well you slept the night before. To be as productive as possible, you need to get sufficient shuteye for your body’s needs. You should know a few things about the link between sleep and productivity.

Current Sleep Recommendations

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that adults over 18 get at least seven hours of sleep each night. But it’s important to note that everyone is different. You may find that you function just fine with six hours of nightly sleep. Or, you may need at least nine hours of shuteye to avoid feeling sluggish the next day.

You may also go through periods of life when you require more sleep than at other times. For example, stressful situations, illnesses, and jet lag can all lead to temporary fluctuations in your sleep needs. But for the most part, your body should remain pretty consistent in how much sleep it requires to function well. Once you determine your optimal number of sleep hours, try to get that much sleep each night. That way, you’ll easily meet your daily productivity goals.

How Poor Sleep Affects Productivity at Work

Poor sleep doesn’t just make you feel groggy the next day. It also impacts your ability to function and be productive at work. One analysis of sleep hours and productivity reveals a strong link between the two. Employees who reported getting eight hours of sleep at night also showed increased productivity. On the other hand, employees who received insufficient sleep reported more daytime fatigue and decreased productivity.

For the human body and mind, sleep isn’t optional. You can’t be chronically sleep-deprived and expect to perform as well as you would with adequate sleep. Just as a vehicle needs regular oil changes to continue functioning, the human body requires quality rest to perform optimally. It’s estimated that productivity losses due to poor sleep and fatigue cost businesses nearly $2,000 per employee each year. Many of these losses could have been avoided if the employees in question simply snoozed more each night.

The Connection Between Cortisol and Sleep Quality

Have you ever woken up after a rough night of sleep and felt completely run down or even ill? If so, it’s likely because elevated levels of cortisol were circulating through your body. Cortisol is commonly called “the stress hormone” because it rises in response to stressors.

That said, cortisol isn’t always negative. Think about how some stress can be motivating. While cortisol levels at night can ruin sleep, the body naturally boosts your cortisol levels in the morning to get you up and going. It’s the same way the body should naturally produce melatonin to put you to bed. The problem is only when cortisol spikes before bed.

Unfortunately, elevated cortisol levels can also lead to sleep problems, which can, in turn, lead to elevated cortisol. These two problems are so closely related that it’s natural to ask which came first, a lack of sleep or a spike in cortisol? Without managing one, you probably won’t be able to manage the other, either.

Many working professionals burn the candle at both ends because they think doing so will help them be more productive at work. What they don’t understand is that elevated cortisol levels can actually hamper productivity. High cortisol can also hinder decision-making skills, negatively impacting visual perception and memory.

Ways to Improve Your Sleep

Good sleep is essential for helping you meet your productivity goals. But knowing how important sleep is won’t do you any good unless you’re getting enough of it. From taking supplements to managing your time better, here are a few things to try if you need help getting sufficient sleep:

Go to Bed Earlier

Sometimes, the fear of insufficient sleep can ironically prevent you from falling asleep. To remove the high stress that comes from worrying about your nightly shuteye, go to bed an hour or two earlier. The extra time will help remove the panic from knowing you need to fall asleep right away to get enough rest.

It’s also beneficial to go to sleep simultaneously each night. You want to set your sleep clock called your circadian rhythm. All bodies have an internal clock that works with the cycles of the day, and going to bed on time and being consistent is critical to keeping it working correctly. If you manage to set it and keep it running smoothly, your body will automatically know when to wake up — even without an alarm clock.

Once you improve your bedtime routine, you also want to stick to a schedule in the morning. When you get up, go outside to enjoy the sunlight within 30 minutes of waking up. Studies have shown seeing a bright light in the morning will help you fall asleep more easily at night. This allows you to set your…