Not getting enough sleep the night before work can cause a serious decrease in productivity. If you have one bad night’s sleep you can feel very slow and struggle to focus the next day, so imagine how this would impact you if it was a long-term problem?

A lack of sleep can have serious impacts on your mental and physical health. With that in mind, we want to help you to recognise when you are not getting enough sleep and how you can solve it, so you feel happier and healthier at work.

Feeling tired isn’t the only sign that you aren’t getting enough sleep. There are many different symptoms of lack of sleep, and it is important that you are able to recognise them early before it becomes a bigger problem.

Here are some key signs that you aren’t getting enough sleep:

Struggling to concentrate

It can be frustrating when you’re struggling to concentrate at work, and it can have a very negative impact on how well you perform your job. Struggling to concentrate on tasks, can lead to you missing important deadlines and not having work done when your boss or the client needs it. Fatigue can affect your concentration levels, so it’s important to have a good sleep before going to work the next day.

Having mood swings

When we’re tired it can affect our attitude towards work, some things that we can usually brush off can suddenly begin to get under our skin. Being stressed at work has an impact on how well you carry out your tasks and can lead to you not producing work to the standard you usually would. If you find yourself having uncharacteristic mood swings, this can be down to a lack of sleep.

Start becoming forgetful

Not all of us have a great memory, but when you’re struggling to remember important details to help you with a task, it can be damaging to your productivity at work. We all can be forgetful at times but if this is a constant occurrence, there’s a chance it is down to tiredness.

Performance levels drop

Without enough sleep, you will have more difficulty concentrating, learning, communicating. Memory lapses increase and your mood begins to fluctuate. Because of this, your overall performance during the workday will decrease.

How to improve your sleeping pattern

It is recommended that you get seven to nine hours of sleep per night. If you’re not getting enough, there’s a number of ways you can improve your sleeping pattern to get closer to this number.

• Avoid any caffeine-filled drinks at night
• Wind down before you go to sleep (take a bath or read a book)
• Separate your bedroom as a place for sleep
• Avoid using your phone before going to sleep
• Create a comfortable environment to sleep in (temperature, lighting, etc.)
• Regular exercise can help you to feel more tired later in the evening

Changing your work life to promote better sleep

If you find that your work life balance is having a damaging effect on your sleeping pattern, it is important to discuss the issue with your boss. Ask if your boss can introduce flexible working as this can boost productivity, decrease stress, and promote a healthy work-life balance for employees.