Prioritizing sleep for healthy work schedules

Abstract

Good sleep is advantageous to the quality of life. Sleep-related benefits are particularly helpful for the working class, since poor or inadequate amounts of sleep degrade work productivity and overall health. This review paper explores the essential role of sleep in healthy work schedules and primarily focuses on the timing of sleep in relation to the work period (that is, before, during and after work). Data from laboratory, field and modeling studies indicate that consistent amounts of sleep prior to work are fundamental to improved performance and alertness in the workplace. In addition, planned naps taken during work maintain appropriate levels of waking function for both daytime and night-time work. Clearly, sufficient sleep after work is vital in promoting recovery from fatigue. Recent data also suggest that the time interval between shifts should be adjusted according to the biological timing of sleep. Although sleep is more likely to be replaced by job and other activities in the real life, research shows that it is worthwhile to revise the work schedules in order to optimize sleep before, sometime during and after the work period. Therefore, we suggest establishing work-sleep balance, similar to work-life balance, as a principle for designing and improving work schedules.

A workplace intervention improves sleep: results from the randomized controlled Work, Family, and Health Study

“…1,[13][14][15] Most studies focus on the individual level and use stressbased models. Extreme work hours have negative impacts on sleep duration that can be alleviated to some degree by changes in work schedules.…”

Sociomedical problems of overwork-related deaths and disorders in Japan

“…In particular, adequate sleep plays a core role in maintaining the health, productivity, and the quality of life among working populations . In other words, each workplace is recommended to make every effort to let employees take sufficient sleep through the appropriate design of schedules for work and non‐work (daily rest period) …”

Emotion Work and Musculoskeletal Pain in Supermarket Cashiers: A Test of a Sleep-Mediation Model

“…Adequate working conditions and leisure time are most important to enable recovery (Geurts and Sonnentag, 2006). Prioritizing sleep for healthy work schedules should be on the agenda for health promotion initiatives (Takahashi 2012). The person-oriented approach to sleep in workers and employees so far includes sleep extension on weekends, especially for those who sleep less than six hours after work days (Kubo et al, 2011), and online sleep training intervention (including mindfulness training) to increase sleep quality after work (Ebert et al, 2015;Thiart et al, 2015).…”