A growing problem in the West is the number of adults reporting problems with sleeping. Although the numbers vary, there is proof that the issue is significant. This is because, inseveral countriesacross the continent, upwards of 20 percent of the population suffersfrom a lack of sleep.
Now, these statistics by themselves may not mean much. However, there are a few other factors to consider. These include the number of average working hours each week in these countries. It isn’t a coincidence that Denmark, where the work week is just 38 hours long, doesn’t have a population contending with too many sleep issues. On the other hand, Poland, where the average employee works around 41 hours, has one of the highest rates of insomnia in Europe. And, in UK, a massive 37% workers are not able to get enough sleep.
So, does working more hours meanthat employees are being more productive at work? Well, the numbers would say otherwise. While Denmark is estimated to be the fourth most productive country in the world, Poland doesn’t even make the list. This isn’t the case in just these two countries, however.
To sum things up, people are working more, getting less sleep, and being less productive. The reason for this is simple – sleep is responsible for more aspects of your health than you may realize. So, when you don’t get as many hours of sleep as you should, this begins to affect your performance at work. Here are all the downsides of not getting enough sleep:
It Makes Workers Less Efficient
A sleep-deprived employeeis going to find it difficult to pay attention to a given task for too long. This is because your body has a tendency to release a greater amount of cortisol, the stress hormone,when you don’t get enough sleep. This hormone affects the hippocampus, making it difficult to pay attention, absorb information, and recall data. So, when applied to a work setting, employees will take longer to complete one task, indicating that they will get less done during the day.
Workers Problem Solving Skills are Greatly Reduced
Regardless of the type of work that you are doing, there is undoubtedly going to be some problem solving required. Well, when you don’t get enough sleep, the ability to do this is rather impaired. This is due to a combination of factors. First, since people aren’t able to focus on tasks for long periods of time, they are unable to give their full attention to a particular topic. Furthermore, due to a decrease in motivation, employees will not spend as much time or effort trying to solve the problem at hand.
It Can Lower Office Morale
If most people in your workplace appear to be in a bad mood, are irritable and snap at each other, it could be because they lost out on sleep. See, a lack of sleep has a direct impact on people’s moods. This makes individuals more likely to experience negative moods which can border on anger and hostility. As such, it can be difficult to have groups of people working together to accomplish a task.
More Sick Leave Requests
It isn’t just the brain that is impacted by too little sleep – it takes a toll on your body as well. If people break restcontinuously, there is a good chance that they will experience lowered immunity. Thus, there is a greater likelihood of people getting sick and perhaps taking even longer to recover. Of course, this would mean that a greater number of people take sick leave more often, halting productivity.
It Can Be Downright Dangerous
Construction worksites and similar locations can be deadly for workers who do not get enough sleep. This is because such jobs require workers to be alert at all times, to communicate with one another, and be constantly aware of safety precautions. A lack of sleep can affect all this, which means that workers are more likely to make mistakes during the course of their duties. The unfortunate outcome of this is that there is a greater chance of accidents occurring as well.
All of the above points prove that to maintain a proper level of productivity, you need to get adequate amounts of sleep each and every night. Only by doing so will you be able to actively utilize all of your mental faculties, thus becoming a more productive individual.