American business icon, T. Boone Pickens, once said: “Work 8 hours and sleep 8 hours and make sure that they are not the same hours.” The point of this statement being is that in order to be productive during your work hours, you need to afford yourself the proper amount of time to sleep.

The American Sleep Foundation conducted a poll in 2018 reported that 46% of Americans found that they were ineffective at getting things done with lack of sleep. This is compared to 90% of respondents that stated they felt more effective with the proper amount of sleep.

Further, a study was conducted using data acquired from 11,000 government employees in the state of Kansas. This study concluded that those employees with poor sleep patterns experienced an increased cost to their healthcare, a greater chance to miss work, and a decrease in their level of work performance. And to put this in perspective, results from a 2010 study assigned a near $2000 yearly cost to employers due to the decrease in work output from employees with lack of sleep.

However, all of these factoids would be useless without a plan of action to correct them. Experts suggest allowing employees adequate time between shifts. Asking employees to pull double shifts or work excessive amounts of overtime will decrease their work performance. Further, employers should try to be flexible when it comes to work shifts. Employees have personal and familial obligations. Being able to work around such obligations can increase work performance. Lastly, employers should try to separate work and home time. Employers should allow their employees to decompress and relax while at home, and should avoid contacting their employees unless it’s absolutely necessary.

For more sleep tips, stop by Mattress Gallery Direct and speak with one of our Sleep Specialists!