This piece is a text reversion of a Business Daily piece from BBC World Service, presented and produced by Laurence Knight. Adapted by Meredith Turits.
There are myriad reasons why many of us are falling asleep at our desks. For instance, in the last year, snagging a good night’s sleep has become an impossibility for some. On top of expanded obligations, stress and endless phone notifications, many are also working longer days and balancing impossible personal tasks as we work at home.
So, although staying awake is perhaps harder than ever, we’ve never needed to do it more.
But without guzzling coffee, or ignoring our responsibilities so we can get into bed earlier, how can we keep focused and sharp? Part of the solution may be re-thinking our attitudes about the purpose of sleep, and taking cues from people for whom staying alert is a matter of life or death.
A cheeky doze
It won’t be surprising to hear that true alertness starts with a real reset, gained from a full night’s rest.
“New research has suggested that sleep really serves as the brain's housekeeper, which helps to clear metabolic waste and toxins from the brain,” says Natalie Dautovich, an assistant professor of psychology at Virginia Commonwealth University in the US, and also the National Sleep Foundation’s Environmental Scholar. “Some of these toxins are similar to what is seen in the development of late-life dementias.”
To get that ‘cleansing’ effect and stay maximally awake at work, Dautovich says it’s important to get those seven-to-nine hours of sleep we so keenly know we need. And it’s not just quantity, but quality, too – which means everything you’ve heard about having a distraction-free sleep environment is valid.
Specifically, she says, “a lot of digital electronic devices today emit light that is of a shorter wavelength – it’s on the cooler end of the spectrum, which helps bring on feelings of alertness”. Additionally, many of these devices can be “cognitively stimulating, and can in fact cue you to start thinking about work and feeling stressed, or feeling activated when you go into the bedroom”. In other words, your phone is keeping you alert exactly when you don’t want to be.
And, although we knowthose eight hours are critical, the less we get them, the less accurately we’re able to judge the effect lack of sleep actually has on performance, says Dautovich. It’s a spiral – one that makes putting our head down on our keyboards all too enticing.
But while many of us are struggling to get that crucial full night’s rest, there is always another strategy: grabbing a cheeky nap. And it has, perhaps, never been more tempting to hop between the sheets midday – especially when your bed may be a few feet from your workstation (or, perhaps, functioning as your desk entirely).
However, to get the best recharge from napping, you need to be strategic.
“The best napping strategy would be to take advantage of that natural dip in alertness we experience post-lunch – so early-to-mid afternoon,” says Dautovich. “You also want to limit a nap to less than 20 minutes if possible, in order to avoid entering the deeper stages of sleep, which can bring about that feeling of grogginess.”
The Link LonkApril 02, 2021 at 03:19AM
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How to stay awake and alert at work - BBC News
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