Study/ How the work environment affects your sleep

2023-05-13 20:55:00, Shëndeti CNA

It is not only work that brings stress, but also the lack of support from colleagues and superiors, a new study shows.

Employees who have psychological and social support at work are able to get better quality sleep, according to research that analyzed the activity of more than 100,000 people from Sweden, Denmark and Finland.

The researchers, as noted by CNN, studied leadership qualities such as appreciation and listening skills, and perceptions of fairness in the workplace. They also studied factors such as peer support and a collaborative culture.

Sleep problems included sleep initiation or maintenance, poor sleep quality, and daytime fatigue two to four times per week lasting one to three months. Factors such as age and pre-existing physical or mental disorders were excluded from the study.

Within two years, more than half of the participants (53%) reported changes in their work environment. If the changes were positive in either of the two categories—leadership and justice or support and cooperation—the likelihood of persistent sleep problems decreased. The greatest reduction occurred when the employee saw improvements in all four areas in the workplace.

However, if the changes at work were negative, sleep problems increased—in fact, 1 in 4 people in the study with worse work environments had trouble getting enough rest.

How to fix the problem

Experts recommend that if you can't sleep:

* Get out of bed if you have not fallen asleep within 15 or 20 minutes.

* Keep lights low and stay away from blue light emitted by televisions or smartphones.

* Do something meaningless, like folding socks, until you feel sleepy. Only then can you go back to bed.

* Schedule a 'worry hour' - a period of time outside the bedroom, outside of sleep, to worry about things like work.

* Deep breathing is a scientifically proven way to calm the body and mind./ Adapted from CNA.al