How to prevent a bad night from affecting your work – 05/04/2023 – Equilibrium

Think about the last night you slept poorly. How productive were you the next day at work? Was it difficult to start? Did the day drag on? Have you been procrastinating on Twitter or TikTok instead of doing your tasks?

If your answer to these questions is “yes”, you are not alone. While we don’t fully understand why we sleep, we do know that sleep is crucial to our physical and mental functioning.

So how exactly does a poor night’s sleep affect our work performance the next day, and how can we combat the negative effects?

Studies in organizational behavior identify sleep as an important factor to be productive in the workplace.

My colleagues and I, for example, conduct daily surveys in which employees respond to questionnaires several times a day over several work weeks.

Results demonstrate that on days with good sleep compared to poor sleep (i.e., with higher sleep quality or duration), employees perform better on their core job tasks, are more engaged at work, and are more likely to support the friends.

Meanwhile, lack of sleep makes employees more likely to procrastinate and engage in unethical behavior, such as claiming credit for someone else’s work.

One study even found that on days when a company’s managers slept poorly, their employees tended to report episodes of abusive leadership more frequently, such as making negative comments about them in front of other colleagues.

Sleep affects willpower

Sleep is particularly important for high-level cognitive skills, which we use to control and coordinate our thoughts and behavior. A vital cognitive skill that is particularly dependent on a good night’s sleep is self-control or willpower.

Much of what we do at work requires willpower. We need willpower to control our impulses and emotions, to complete less pleasant or downright unpleasant tasks, and to resist distractions while working.

Examples of situations that require willpower at work might include customer service, when the service provider needs to keep a smile on their face even when they are not in a good mood, or remote work focusing on a challenging task while the kids play to the bottom.

Tips for working well after a sleepless night

There are many studies that highlight the importance of a good night’s sleep and give recommendations on how to improve sleep, such as avoiding the use of smartphones before bed.

But it’s often unavoidable to have a bad night, especially in times of stress. So how do you function well at work the next day?

1. Trace a strategy for your tasks

If possible, avoid work tasks that require willpower on days when you didn’t sleep well the night before. Instead, work on tasks that are simple and don’t require a lot of thought or attention.

If you can’t avoid tasks that require willpower, schedule them for earlier in the day, as that’s when you’re likely to have the most mental energy.

2. Change your mindset

Research shows that how people view willpower shapes their ability to apply it.

One theory is that exerting willpower drains our mental energy, which in turn makes us less willing and able to develop more willpower.

But people who believe that willpower depends on limited mental resources feel more depleted after moments of exertion than people who believe that willpower depends on unlimited resources that can be easily recovered.

According to my research, employees who believe that willpower depends on unlimited resources perform better at work on sleepless days.

So, while researchers are still working to understand the limits of willpower, you might want to try to reconsider your view of how intense use of willpower depletes your mental energy.

3. If you can’t change yourself, change your situation

If you’re on a diet, it’s easier not to buy chocolate at the supermarket than to refrain from eating it every time you open your kitchen cupboard.

Research has shown that people who are very good at exerting willpower actually try to avoid situations that require it.

In one experiment, when given the option of working on a task in a room with few distractions compared to many, people who better apply willpower were more likely to choose the room with the fewest distractions.

So, especially on days when you’ve had a poor night’s sleep, strategies that avoid having to put more willpower into a task can help you be more productive and complete tasks.

4. Watch a funny video

Positive emotions can help restore our mental energy as they counteract the harmful effects of negative emotions.

In a recent study, my colleagues and I found that watching a funny video during the day can reduce the harmful mental effects of willpower-intensive work demands and thus increase employee effectiveness.

So, on days when you haven’t slept well, it can be helpful to briefly distract yourself by watching a funny video when you feel your mental energy is low. But be careful not to get “addicted”.

Text adapted from this website article The Conversation (in English) and republished under a Creative Commons license