Worker productivity and performance is affected by waking up in the night
Impact of nighttime awakenings on worker productivity and performance. Zammit GK, Joish VN, Kong MC, et al. J Occup Environ Med. 2010. 52(5): 513-518.
Aim
To investigate the relationship between nighttime awakenings in employees and how they function in the workplace.
Looked at
4,188 employees at four US companies were randomly selected to describe their sleep patterns and complete the Work Limitations Questionnaire.
How?
Researchers gathered employees' general demographics, health status and sleep information. Participants were categorised by number of nighttime awakenings (0, 1-2, 3-4 and more than 5 times per night). The survey also included questions on how they performed time management, physical job tasks, mental/interpersonal tasks and output tasks.
Results
-
Participants who reported more than 5 awakenings per night had the greatest loss in productivity
No of awakenings per night
% of employees
Loss in productivity (%)
0
11
2.78
1 to 2
58
3.64
3 to 4
24
4.46
5 or more
7
5.5
- More women than men reported higher number of awakenings
- The greatest impairments were found in the performance areas of energy, motivation and social interaction
What does this mean?
The better quality sleep an employee has, the more productive they are likely to be. Energy, motivation and social interaction are especially affected by poor sleep.