Why Insomnia is a Nightmare at Work

There you are, wide awake, staring at your bedroom clock. It's 3:27am. You can't sleep, and you don't know why. And not knowing why is keeping you awake. It's a vicious circle, an exhausted snake eating its tail. You look again. 3:34am. Now you're getting angry. You need to wake up in four hours, but you need to fall asleep first. Work is going to be a nightmare.

Tired employees are a liability. They're irritable, distracted and even dangerous. As this article explains:

"You might think that sleepy workers would be at greater risk of being absent from work, but the researchers found that about two-thirds of lost productivity due to insomnia can actually be traced to workers who show up but are not as productive as their rested peers. Among other problems, they make mistakes on the job or cause accidents."

We all have nights when we can't sleep, and we drift through the following day at work like lost ghosts, wandering in and out of meetings trying to hide our sleepiness and make it to the end of the day. We swallow our yawns and blink our puffy eyes, avoiding our more complicated tasks because we know we won't do a good job. Sleepless nights make for useless days, but what can you do?

Get your blood moving. Take frequent walks around the office. Talk with your colleagues. Movement and engaging with others will keep your senses stimulated until you can sneak off during your lunch break to catch 20 minutes of sleep in your car. Never underestimate the power of a nap. In the future, when people are more civilized, naps will be part of adult culture. But for now, you car will have to do. Just remind a friend to call you when your 20 minutes is up. Nap too long and you'll have another sleepless night ahead.

Image courtesy of Fairy Heart