sleep-hygiene

Insomnia: Effect on Workplace Productivity

GalleryJudy Gurfein Leave a comment

Insomnia: Effect on Workplace Productivity

By Madison Gesualdo

It’s barely 1 P.M. during the work day and you’re already dozing off at your desk, wondering how on Earth you’ll stay awake for the next few hours. To any observer, you might appear as yet another lazy employee “sleeping on the job.” However, no one knows about the preceding circumstances leading up to your lapse in energy, and no one except you knows about the tossing and turning you experienced the night before that, ultimately, led to yet another sleepless night.

Insomnia is a sleep disorder in which an individual has difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep. The disorder becomes chronic when these habits persist, becoming a regular pattern in the individual’s daily life. According to a 2024 survey conducted by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, roughly 12% of adults in the United States self-reported being diagnosed with chronic insomnia. This statistic does not account for any currently undiagnosed cases of chronic insomnia in the United States, or for diagnosed cases that survey participants chose not to self-report. While one might speculate that a sleepless night resulting from insomnia may just cause general drowsiness and prompt a few yawns the following day, the effects of insomnia, specifically on workplace productivity, far exceed this assumption.

Insomnia can cause a severe deficit in workplace productivity, with sleep deprivation yielding a significant decline in job performance. Individuals who suffer from chronic insomnia report experiencing impaired thinking, emotional emptiness, and slowed physical reactions during their workday, as well as extreme fatigue that causes delays and errors in work assignments and tasks.

A wide range of resources are available to treat insomnia. Some of these include:

  • Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT): Can help reduce anxiety about not being able to sleep
  • Relaxation/meditation therapy: Can help train you to relax your body and fall asleep more easily
  • Stimulus control therapy: Can help regulate your sleep-wake cycle and eliminate potential distractions encountered when falling asleep
  • Medication: Prescription medications, such as benzodiazepines, can help sedate the central nervous system and relax the body, making it easier to fall asleep

If you or someone you know is struggling with insomnia or trouble sleeping, please contact our psychotherapy offices in New York or New Jersey to talk to one of our licensed professional psychologists, psychiatrists, psychiatric nurse practitioners, or psychotherapists at Arista Counseling & Psychotherapy. Contact our Paramus, NJ or Manhattan, NY offices respectively, at (201) 368-3700 or (212) 722-1920 to set up an appointment. For more information, please visit http://www.counselingpsychotherapynjny.com/

References:

American Academy of Sleep Medicine. (n.d.) Survey shows 12% of Americans have been diagnosed with insomnia. American Academy of Sleep Medicine. https://aasm.org/survey-shows-12-of-americans-have-been-diagnosed-with-chronic-insomnia/#:~:text=Survey%20shows%2012%25%20of%20Americans%20have%20been%20diagnosed%20with%20chronic%20insomnia

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. (n.d.) Insomnia: Treatment. National Institute of Health. https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/insomnia/treatment

Newsom, R. & Wright, H. (2023, November 3). The link between sleep and job performance. Sleep Foundation. https://www.sleepfoundation.org/sleep-hygiene/good-sleep-and-job-performance

Insomnia & The Digital Age  

GalleryJudy Gurfein Leave a comment
Insomnia & The Digital Age  By: Nicole Sanchez

Insomnia is a sleep disorder in which one may find it difficult to fall asleep, stay asleep, or both, even if one has ample time for restful sleep. With insomnia one may experience disruptions that impair the quality of one’s sleep which in turn may cause sleepiness during the day. Short term insomnia, may occur as a result of stress or may be due to certain changes in one’s schedule or environment. Short term insomnia can last for a few days or weeks. Chronic or long-term insomnia occurs at least 3 nights a week, persists longer than 3 months, and does not have another health issue that could be a root cause. Furthermore, due to technological advancements and the rise in media, there has been a particular increase in insomnia among individuals. Digital activity, especially increased screen time, disturbs a person’s sleep quality because screens emit blue light which suppress the production of melatonin, a hormone that induces sleepiness. Viewing overstimulating content before bedtime also makes it more difficult to fall asleep, thus, reducing the time that’s usually reserved for sleep.   

Chronic insomnia affects around 15 to 35 percent of adults, so it’s critical to focus on reducing the symptoms and allowing individuals to improve their sleep quality. Researchers believe cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) to be the most successful initial treatment for chronic insomnia. Through CBT-I individuals learn to reconstruct the feelings, thoughts and behaviors that are causing insomnia. Hypnotherapy is a method that can be used to help those suffering with insomnia as it helps to induce sleep and places individuals into a relaxed, trance-like state so they can let go of any anxiety.

If you or someone you know is having mental health difficulties and/ or insomnia, please contact our psychotherapy offices in New Jersey to talk to one of our licensed professional psychologists, psychiatrists, psychiatric nurse practitioners, or psychotherapists at Arista Counseling & Psychotherapy. Contact our offices at (201) 368-3700 or (212) 722-1920 to set up an appointment. For more information, please visit http://www.counselingpsychotherapynjny.com/

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/insomnia/symptoms-causes/syc-20355167

https://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/insomnia-symptoms-and-causes

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/12119-insomnia