When you wake up in the morning do you think about how your night’s rest is going to affect your work day? Research has more than reiterated that sleep is an important tool for our productivity, creativity and innovation.
However, according to the CDC, nearly a third of Americans are sleep deprived and sleeping less than six hours a night. It is estimated that insomnia is responsible for 367 million lost workdays per year, costing employers nearly $63.2 billion annually and counting.
What exactly happens when you go to work sleep- deprived?
Your learning, memory and critical problem solving skills are diminished: During the second half of a full night of sleep, our brains are top priority as memories and new information are consolidated. Disrupted sleep or not sleeping long enough doesn’t allow the process to give you what you need.
Your ethical decisions are questionable: You are unable to understand the implications needed to make fair decisions and more unwilling to negotiate. One study found that sleep deprived people are more likely to make decisions seeking out financial gain, making gambling more appealing with a lack of sleep.
Your ability to think outside of the box is missing: Dreams are great place to find creativity and innovation to apply to the real world. Many people have reported their best ideas came from a dream, including Paul McCartney who credits a dream to writing the Beatles hit “Yesterday” and Stephen King who had a nightmare that inspired his best seller Misery.
There is much more to be gained from sleeping than staying up late into the night. Try setting a bedtime alarm to remind you to prepare to relax and get a great night of sleep for work day success!
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