More On Lack of Sleep

It is an interesting topic so articles on the impact of lack of sleep always catch my eye. So, yesterday’s USA Today article was no difference. Here are a few things from that article:

• Nearly 3 in 10 workers have become very sleepy, or even fallen asleep, at work in the past month. (National Sleep Foundation)
• About 70M Americans have problems sleeping. (Hence a large spike in prescriptions in this category.)
• Some companies like Union Pacific are even allowing employees to nap during the workday. (Moving from the dotcoms to the blue chips. I remember seeing a person get fired for nodding off in a meeting.)
• 36% of workers have nodded off or fallen asleep while driving.
• 12% have been late to work because of sleepiness.
• The article talks about other issues from lack of sleep including accidents, productivity, impatience with others, and difficulty concentrating. (And, I have talked several times about the correlation with obesity which drives up medical costs dramatically.)
• Employees with more than one job have the hardest time with 43% saying they only get a good night’s sleep a few nights a month.

It’s interesting. Not only does it affect employees, but it also affects kids. I hear people talk about their kids going to bed at midnight. Considering kids need 9-12 hours of sleep a night, that can’t work if the kids go to school or the parents work. I always think a good test is how often you wake up before your alarm or your kids wake themselves up.