It’s not secret around here that poor sleep leads to all kinds of terrible outcomes: false memories, obesity, and ugly face syndrome, to name a few. Here’s one more: poor work habits.
A study published in Sleep has found that people who get between seven and eight hours of sleep per night are the most reliable workers. Researchers in Finland surveyed 3,760 people (ages thirty to sixty-four) about their sleep and work habits. They found that people using the fewest number of sick days were men who averaged 7.46 hours per night and women averaging 7.38.
By contrast, those most likely to miss work were those sleeping less than five hours and those sleeping more than ten. Short and long sleepers missed about five to nine days more work than optimal sleepers.
What’s interesting here is that it isn’t just people sleeping less who have a problem—it’s people sleeping a lot, which also comes with myriad health problems. Our advice? Sleep with someone can fix the problem for you. Or, if you want real advice, see a professional.
