The Role of Sleep in Mental Health & Workplace Performance

It was once said that sleep is the cousin of death. This type of mindset has become prevalent in many workplace environments. Some organisations believe in and promote a culture of employees wholeheartedly dedicating themselves to their work at the expense of sleep. This often involves waking up earlier and getting to bed later to maximise professional output. Combine this with the rise of hybrid working and the blurred lines of professional and personal lives, a mindset of total professional commitment has become even more prevalent. This inflated emphasis on professional commitment can lead to a toxic working environment, which generates further stress. Stress can play a huge factor in the quality of sleep a person experiences. Encouraging a mindset which devalues the importance of sleep will ultimately result in higher costs and a lower quality of professional output.

It is suggested by professional health authorities that adults up to the age of 64 require between 7-9 hours of sleep to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Despite this, research has found that almost 1 in 5 people in the UK are not getting enough sleep. Adding to this, 37% of adults in the UK believe that work impacts and ultimately reduces control over their sleep, caused by workplace stress.

Sleep is an essential component of a high-performance workplace. Poor quality of sleep is linked to a host of issues, including lack of focus, memory loss, common illnesses and making a person less able to manage stress. These factors can contribute to more concerning mental health conditions, including anxiety and depression. Considering how integral sleep is to workplace performance could lead to an upturn in productivity and workplace engagement within an organisation.

How Can Sleep Affect Work?

Healthy sleeping schedules and workplace productivity are symbiotic. Preparation, self-awareness and being alert are all essential for high-level workplace performance. Each aspect is hindered by sleep deprivation. Lack of sleep may simply lead to decreased effort levels caused by tiredness, reduction in creative output and struggling to maintain focus. This type of impact can influence leaders and managers to view an employee as unmotivated, irritable and incapable of carrying out their role effectively. It could lead to disciplinary measures, formal warnings being issued and if issues persist for an extended time, dismissal.

Lack of sleep can be extremely detrimental to a person’s physical health. Multiple studies have linked a lack of sleep to ill-physical health caused by a decreased immune function. In the short-term, the absence of a healthy sleeping cycle is linked to common illnesses such as a cold, heartburn and headaches. Although this may not seem too alarming, this can cost organisations thousands each year with employee absence and presenteeism rates increasing. Whilst the impact of employee absences may be immediately apparent, the lack of quality output caused by presenteeism may only become apparent after the cost has begun to rise. In an instance such as this, it can be difficult to curb the issue and return to the high standards originally achieved.

Effects of Sleep Loss

It is often underestimated how significant of an impact sleep can have on a person. Sleep isn’t something that is necessarily seen or appreciated by others, the impact of not getting enough sleep is typically only evident on a personal level. Lack of sleep is heavily linked to low energy levels, higher levels of stress, increased paranoia, anxiety, depression and mood swings. This can have a clear impact on workplace performance as has been noted, but it can also negatively affect someone’s personal life. It might manifest itself in the form of a lack of motivation to partake in social activities, negative personal interactions or someone’s mental health. Sleep is linked to each aspect in one way or another. With a lack of energy caused by sleep deprivation, increased levels of stress and even burnout, the possibility of avoiding social activities increases massively, which can create a cycle of adding to stress and decreased mood. Even if social events are attended by a person deprived of sleep, due to irritability and poor mental health, a person may be prone to mood swings and possibly damaging their existing relationships. In a recent survey, a huge 84% of the people surveyed felt more irritable because of poor sleep. All these factors can lead to more severe issues such as depression, which further disrupts sleep and a creates a cycle that is difficult to break free from. In more extreme instances, a lack of sleep can lead to intense paranoia, mania and hallucinations which can be hugely detrimental to a person’s mental and social well-being.

Physical health can be greatly impacted by sleep. Over a short period of time, due to the impact of reduced energy levels, it could lead to an inability to maintain a healthy lifestyle. This domino effect can impact a regular exercise routine, sticking to a healthy diet, or indulging unhealthy habits such as increased caffeine, nicotine or alcohol consumption. If this continues for an extended time, it can lead to very concerning medical conditions. Chronic lack of sleep is linked to conditions such as obesity, diabetes and heart disease. Physical conditions such as these are serious enough to affect daily life but can also be life-threatening. Sleep is not just essential to personal and professional performance; it is vital to remaining healthy for years to come.

Economic Impact of Sleep Deprivation

The impact sleep deprivation can have on the economy might be unclear in the moment, but it is significant. From increases in absences and presenteeism to decreases in productivity and ultimately higher turnover rates, sleep deprivation and failure to effectively manage it can cost organisations untold amounts. Studies by RAND have found that in the UK, sleep deprivation accounts for approximately 200,000 working days lost caused by absenteeism and presenteeism and lack of productivity. The study also estimated that this lack of sleep across various sectors has resulted in an annual loss of approximately £50 billion for UK organisations. The impact of sleep is not truly considered in the moment, but the costs add up.

Improving Job Performance

Sleep can impact all aspects of a person’s life, and with approximately 20% of a person’s week spent working, the cause and effect of sleep on workplace performance can become rapidly evident. Some relatively basic adjustments can help improve a person’s quality of sleep and have a domino effect of raising the quality of a person’s professional performance and output. There are simple steps that can be taken by an employer and an individual to improve a person’s sleeping habits which will have the ripple effect of improving their productivity and workplace performance.

• Develop and stick to a schedule:

Creating and sticking to a schedule allows for a structured and consistent sleeping pattern. It is recommended that adults get between 7-8 hours of sleep a night. If a person changes the time they go to sleep each night but they still wake up for work at roughly the same time every morning, the quality of sleep they experience will be massively affected. Keeping to a schedule of eating at a certain time, beginning a night-time routine and turning screens off at the same time each day to focus will impact sleep massively. The same can be applied for waking up, setting alarms for specific times and waking up at the same time each morning ensures a person’s body clock is operating correctly. This diminishes grogginess in the morning and releases energy effectively throughout the day.

• Incorporate physical activity into your daily routine

Often, the greatest difficulty people face with a healthy sleeping pattern is feeling too energised at the end of the day and struggling to fall asleep. This can be caused by caffeine or eating too late in the day. It can be caused by working in an environment that requires minimal activity (i.e. in an office role). Any energy stored from meals throughout the day isn’t effectively utilised if a person doesn’t undertake some physical activity or exercise, meaning energy is still slowly being releasing at the end of the day. Effectively using the energy, even if it is a short walk during a break will improve a person’s quality of sleep and ultimately prepare them for the working environment in the coming days with enough rest to operate at a high level.

• Manage stress

Although this may seem easier said than done, managing stress can massively impact sleep. High levels of stress can fuel mental activity, conscious or subconscious. If a person fails to effectively manage stress, falling asleep becomes more difficult, but it can also disturb their unconscious mind and impact the quality of their sleep each night. Through prioritisation, taking steps to remain mindful and developing a reliable support network, stress can be effectively managed, and this will improve a person’s quality of sleep significantly.

How an EAP can help?

Stress can have a huge impact on a person’s sleep. During stressful periods, workplace and personal concerns begin to accumulate, and the effects of this stress aren’t always clear. The primary example of how stress can affect a person without clear indicators is how they are sleeping.

With sleep linked so heavily to stress, mental and physical health, it must be prioritised to maximise productivity and a person’s wellbeing and the necessary support is vital. With Health Assured’s Employee Assistance Programme (EAP), expert support is readily available from accredited, expert counsellors, 24/7, 365-days a year. Health Assured’s EAP counselling service provides users the necessary support and advice to effectively deal with mental wellbeing.

With short-term goal-oriented counselling to ensure people can better understand and overcome the problems they are facing. This includes dealing with stress, burnout and anxiety, all of which can impact sleep.

Conclusion

Sleep is key to almost every aspect of everyday life. This is true for personal life, but it is especially true regarding workplace performance. Professional environments require high levels of focus, and a lack of sleep can impact overall performance.

If expectations are not met, more stress is created, and this can further negatively impact sleep. This can be difficult cycle to escape from and lead to more worrying physical and mental health concerns. Ensuring a healthy sleeping pattern is not only essential to workplace performance, but also to leading a fulfilling life.