Missing a few minutes of sleep can put your work at risk

Studies have shown bidirectional sleep badociations with daily stressors and a negative mood. However, little is known about how sleep is badociated with everyday worker cognitive interference or the experience of distracting and unproductive thoughts.

In a new study from the University of South Florida, scientists examined whether nighttime sleep was badociated with cognitive interference the next day, and vice versa, working days and other days.

They found that a short sleep of only 16 minutes could affect work performance. Workers are more likely to have poor judgment and to leave their jobs the next day.

Scientists interviewed 130 healthy employees who work in the information technology sector and have at least one child of school age. The members revealed that when they slept 16 minutes less than usual and had poorer sleep, they encountered more and more psychological problems the next day. This has raised their anxiety, especially with regard to work-life balance issues.

Lead author, Soomi Lee, Ph.D., badistant professor at the School of Aging Studies, said, "These cyclical badociations show that employee sleep is vulnerable to daily cognitive stress and also contributes to stressful experiences in the workplace. cognitive plan. The results of this study provide empirical evidence of why workplaces need to do more to promote the sleep of their employees. Good sleepers can perform better at work because of their greater ability to stay focused on a task by reducing errors and interpersonal conflict. "

The researchers also compared working days to weekends. They conclude that less sleep has less obvious consequences when you are on leave the next day.