Chip Chick
How do we get our day going after a night of tossing and turning? Do we drink endless cups of coffee, jog in place for endorphins, or take a midday siesta?
Scientists link sleep to effectiveness and productivity. But it’s not necessarily in the way you might think.
A study from Trinity College Dublin shared some insight into this puzzle. “A lack of sleep affects employees’ work effectiveness by reducing their willpower—the ability to control impulses, emotions, and desires,” the study said.
Evaluating the factors that make us successful in our jobs also requires naming the behaviors that detract from productivity. These include getting distracted, not following through on tasks, and procrastinating.
So, what do we already know that the study confirms? Well, it references “a steep increase of sleep difficulties among the working population.”
So, working 40+ hour weeks often means not getting the sleep we need and can make working the next day more challenging.
Many studies have examined “malleable” or changeable factors, such as caffeine intake, compared with non-malleable ones, such as personal self-control.
Trinity’s study used diaries to measure participants’ ability to affect one crucial malleable factor—their perspective on their energy.
What did they find? Ultimately, it all comes down to willpower. Either we believe in a “limited theory of willpower”—that our energy for the day is finite and cannot be renewed or altered.
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