The impact of sleeplessness on work productivity

ABSTRACT

IntroductionPeople in Asia are reported to have the shortest sleep duration worldwide. In particular, Indians slept an average of 6 hours and 46 minutes compared to the 7 hours recommended by the National Sleep Foundation. In addition, COVID-19 pandemic may have exacerbated sleep woes with 2 in 3 people have reported that their ability to sleep well has been affected by the pandemic. Stress and increase in phone use before bedtime are common reasons for poor sleep. Poor sleep is well documented to make us error prone with up to 3 times attention lapses and 2 times odds of making place keeping errors.Material and MethodsIn this investigation, we surveyed more 2236 adults of working age of 25 to 55 years old in 7 major India cities to understand their sleeping patterns, duration, prevalence of sleep difficulties and daytime consequences. The Stanford Presenteeism Scale was used to analyse the impact of reported sleep problems on work performance. We compared workers' ability to handle job stress, complete work tasks, achieve goals, maintain focus and energy during work.Results and ConclusionOnly 15% respondents reported that they have good sleep (7 or more hours of sleep, takes less than 30 minutes to fall asleep and acknowledgment of no sleeping problems). About 40% of respondents shared that they slept less than 7 hours on work days. Among the 1225 employed individuals, IT Professionals (30%) topped the list of profession in facing sleep problems. Using the Stanford Presenteeism Scale, more than 75% of the employed individuals agreed that lack of sleep has major impact on their work performance. However, more than 30% reported to do nothing about it and assumed sleep will get better with time. In conclusion, a majority of Indians reported lack of good sleep during working day and lack of sleep decreases work performance. With many are not taking action, there is a need to raise awareness of impact of insufficient sleep on work and daily life.