How a Bad Night Sleep Can Ruin Your Workday?

Your quality of sleep can affect your performance at work. According to a report, poor sleep makes employees more likely to procrastinate.

How Does Sleep Affect Your Work?

At one point in our lives, we probably experience showing up at work unprepared and restless after a poor night's sleep. According to ScienceAlert, when one lacks sleep, they tend to procrastinate and engage in unethical behavior like claiming credits for some jobs done by others.

A study also noted that on days managers had poor quality sleep, they tend to make more negative remarks and engage in abusive supervision more frequently, according to employees.

The outlet noted that sleep affects our willpower or self-control. When we lack sleep, we lose our will, which is required at work to get our jobs done.

Our willpower helps us resist impulsive emotions and distractions.

Providing service to customers despite not feeling particularly upbeat is an example of a situation that calls on willpower at work. Another example would be someone working from home who must concentrate on a difficult assignment while their kids play in the background.

Aside from losing willpower, Fort HealthCare Business Health report revealed that sleep deprivation negatively affects performance - productivity, and quality. It can also affect our relationship with our colleagues.

Without enough sleep, one struggles to concentrate, learn and communicate. Their problem-solving abilities decline, and memory lapses increase. Additionally, those who lack sleep tend to be moody and less tolerant of others.

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How to Function Well at Work After a Bad Night's Sleep

From time to time, one could experience a bad night. But as a professional, one should try their best to function well despite lacking rest.

Here are some tips from ScienceAlert to perform at your peak despite your lack of sleep.

1. Be Strategic

Since you will likely make a poor choice when you lack sleep, avoid work that requires willpower on days when you haven't slept well. So, work on the simple tasks that don't require too much attention.

If you can't avoid tasks requiring willpower, schedule them early in the day because it's when you are likely to have more mental energy.

2. Avoid Challenging Situations

Research has shown that people who are good at exerting willpower tend to keep themselves away from situations that require it. An experiment revealed that people better at exerting willpower tend to work in a room with fewer distractions when asked to choose between working on a task in a room with many or fewer distractions.

On days when you have poor sleep, avoid activities where you need to exert willpower. Focus your energy on completing simple tasks. In this way, you can still be productive.

3. Watch Funny Clips

Feeling happy can help restore our mental energy. They also counteract negative emotions. You can spark positive emotions by watching comedies.

One study observed that watching funny videos during the day can reduce the negative effect of work demands that require willpower. Instead, it helps employees to be more efficient.

So, when you lack sleep and need to recharge, consider watching funny videos to distract yourself and boost your mental energy. However, ensure you won't get hooked and forget your job.