Each night, too many Americans get poor or inadequate sleep. And each day, sleep deprived employees go to work unaware of the toll that poor sleep is taking on their productivity and job satisfaction. To uncover the extent to which restless nights are affecting employees, the Better Sleep Council (BSC) recently sponsored a national sleep and work productivity survey. Key findings include:

Burning the midnight oil = Burning out at work?

Eight-in-ten consumers report at least one negative side-effect of getting a poor night’s sleep. Most notably, worker say sleep deprivation impairs:

• Quality and accuracy of work (31 percent)
• Clear thinking or judgment (31 percent)
• Remembering important details (30 percent)
• Co-worker or customer relationships (23 percent)
• Punctuality to work and/or meetings (21 percent)

Sleepless in America

• Only a fraction (27 percent) of Americans get the recommended 8 hours of sleep each work week night. (7.5 to 8.5 is optimal)
• 17 percent of Americans claim they only get 5 hours of sleep Monday through Friday. Studies show that getting five hours of sleep a night for one week induces an impairment level equivalent to a blood alcohol level of 0.1 percent; that’s considered legally drunk in most states.

Physically present, mentally absent

While an overwhelming majority of workers (74 percent) say they would physically remain at work and would be unlikely to leave early when suffering from sleep deprivation, most report effects in mental alertness:

• Being in a bad mood and unfriendly (44 percent)
• Yawning and often feeling likely to fall asleep at work (39 percent)
• Having lapses in judgment and difficulty remembering info (36 percent)
• Finding themselves “spacing out” (33 percent)

Americans shut-eyed to sleep basics

When feeling sleepy during the day, only 13 percent of Americans say they would make an effort to get more shut-eye at night to feel more awake and productive during the day; they are turning instead to:

• Caffeine Jolt. Drink coffee, soda or other caffeinated drinks (33 percent)
• Fresh Air. Go outside for fresh air (18 percent)
• Siesta Solution. Take a nap during the day (17 percent)
• Work-it-Out. Exercise during the day (9 percent)

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