Safety & Productivity

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Sleep's Impact on Workplace and Employee Safety

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Sleep's Impact on Workplace and Employee Safety

Sleep deprivation can be a major predictor of accidents and injuries among fatigued workers and employees. Decision-making is compromised, and cognitive processes are slowed. The increased risk is stark and sobering.

That translates to wasteful injuries, but also lost productivity and potentially expensive health insurance and litigation costs. No sleep puts everyone involved at a higher risk for compromised safety. Dollar for dollar, employers who invest in the quality sleep of their employees come out on top.

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Sleep Deprivation Is Killing You and Your Career

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The next time you tell yourself that you’ll sleep when you’re dead, realize that you’re making a decision that can make that day come much sooner. Pushing late into the night is a health and productivity killer.

According to the Division of Sleep Medicine at the Harvard Medical School, the short-term productivity gains from skipping sleep to work are quickly washed away by the detrimental effects of sleep deprivation on your mood, ability to focus, and access to higher-level brain functions for days to come. The negative effects of sleep deprivation are so great that people who are drunk outperform those lacking sleep.

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10 Habits You Should Ditch Now to Bring Productivity to an All-Time High

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They say that you have the same number of hours in the day as Beyonce -- so why does it feel like you’re never able to get caught up on your business to-do list?

Apart from not having your own team of personal assistants, stylists and other hangers-on, it could be your habits that are keeping you from achieving your business goals. Fortunately, habits can be broken.

Here are 10 habits you should ditch right away to improve your productivity:

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9 Science-Backed Reasons Why You Should Go to Bed Early

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Show of hands if you've ever stayed up way too late texting with friends, catching up on TV shows, or scrolling aimlessly through Pinterest or Reddit. Yep, plenty of us are guilty as charged -- and as a result, we end up feeling exhausted in the morning.

That most Americans are falling short on getting the recommended eight hours of sleep per night is nothing new. Clearly though, not everyone who fails to log enough shut eye actually has trouble sleeping. Plenty of us are just staying up too late or putting off bedtime in favor of other activities.

But over time, staying awake into the wee hours can come with a hefty cost. Here are nine surprising ways you can benefit from ditching, or at least minimizing, your night owl habit and following a consistently early bedtime schedule.

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Here's Proof You Don't Have To Sacrifice Sleep To Succeed

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It's rare to get a company-wide email from your boss reminding you to sleep. But that’s exactly what happened last week to the employees at Lightspan Digital, a Chicago-based digital marketing agency.

Mana Ionescu, the president of the company, is a big fan of shut-eye and a devotee of celebrity fitness trainer Jillian Michaels. So when Michaels sent a message to her followers extolling the benefits of a good night’s sleep, Ionescu, 37, forwarded it along to her staff.

“I’m a huge advocate for sleep, and I prioritize it the same way I would prioritize going to the gym and seeing my friends,” said Ionescu, who aims for eight hours a night but estimates she gets closer to seven. “It’s so hard because it’s the thing that seems the easiest to sacrifice.”