We all know how difficult it is to concentrate and get work done when you couldn’t even keep your eyes wide open. It’s true that not getting enough sleep can make you feel tired and sluggish the following day, but this is not the only way lack of sleep can affect you and your work. In fact, worse things can happen to you and even your career.
Here’s how sleep and lack of it can affect how you do your job:
1. Sleeping too little leads to more sick days.
In a recent study about the importance of sleep, it was found that those who sleep less than 5 hours a night are more likely to get sick for almost 9 more days than those who get between 7 and 8 hours of sleep every night. This means that by depriving yourself of adequate sleep, you are also making yourself more prone to being absent from work.
2. Your lack of sleep is also hurting your company.
When you don’t get enough quality sleep, you come to work feeling exhausted and you find it really hard to concentrate. You will also be spending a lot of time just staring at the wall and doing everything to stay awake. When this happens, you cannot expect yourself to finish tasks on time, making you unproductive for the rest of the day. You may not be bothered by this at all because you know there will always be another day when you can catch up with all your unfinished work, but for your company, they will be paying someone for doing nothing.
3. Lack of sleep stops you from being creative.
According to studies, sleep allows your brain to be creative and innovative, and lack of sleep impairs this ability of your brain. As a result, it becomes so much more difficult for you to come up with ideas for your projects, and you also struggle to find solutions to whatever problems you may have at work and even in your personal life.
4. Inadequate sleep hinders you from doing much in your job.
The more you deprive yourself from sleep, the less productive you will be at work. When you don’t get enough sleep, especially when it becomes a habit, you will feel that you always don’t have the energy to get your tasks done on time. You then end up with piled-up work, which could even cause so much stress.
5. Sleep deprivation puts you at risk of getting a job burnout.
Not getting proper rest makes you feel uninspired, and you are likely to think that it’s because of the kind of job you have. When you are not motivated to work, you easily think you have the worst job in the world. This explains why any career or personal coach would always emphasize the importance of sleep when it comes to staying happy with your job.
Cecile Peterkin is a certified career and retirement coach, and a registered member of the Career Professionals of Canada and the International Coach Federation. She is also the Founder and Senior Career Strategist at Cosmic Coaching Centre, provider of career and life management services for middle managers and mid-career professionals across Canada, United States and Europe.