Sleep well, increase productivity

IT IS now well recognised that lack of sleep has been linked to heart disease, high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, and has even been related to a decrease in a person’s lifespan. Poor sleep not only affects people’s health , it also makes it harder to concentrate, reduces productivity, affects mood and diminish people’s ability to get on with those around them – at home and at work.

In fact, Harvard University has found that people’s ability to learn decreases significantly after a poor night’s sleep due to a diminished ability to retain information, which is important while at work, school or while running daily errands.

Dr Anda Baharav, founder and chief scientist of SleepRate, explains, “Many employers have woken up to the fact that the best way to address issues such as absenteeism and productivity in the workplace is by investing in programmes that improve health and well-being, offering perks such as subsidised gym membership or offering emotional counselling.

“It is widely recognised that lack of sleep can affect an employee’s productivity and well-being. In today’s modern life, there are even more distractions – from social media and games on our phones – last thing at night is to watch the next pre-recorded Game of

Thrones episode, as we can’t wait to find out what happens next. We don’t really think about the longterm consequences.

“The importance of good-quality sleep is often missed. There are simple changes we can make to help our sleep, from keeping more regular bedtime and waking hours to understanding triggers that lead to poor-quality sleep. Employers need to take sleep as seriously as the health problems of their employees, and ensure they are doing what they can to support their staff.”