Lark people wake up early and peak in the mornings, while owl people perform better later in the day. But these sleep patterns can get in the way of your productivity
Sleep is a hot topic at the moment, even though why we need it remains a mystery. But we do know lack of it promotes obesity and predisposes someone to Type 2 diabetes, and poor quality sleep may raise blood pressure. Now disruptive sleep patterns are being blamed for “deviant” behaviour.
Science journalist and author Linda Geddes believes: “If you don’t get enough sleep, research suggests you are more likely to engage with unethical and deviant behaviour, such as being mean, bullying your fellow employees or falsifying receipts.
Sleep is a hot topic at the moment, even though why we need it remains a mystery. But we do know lack of it promotes obesity and predisposes someone to Type 2 diabetes, and poor quality sleep may raise blood pressure. Now disruptive sleep patterns are being blamed for “deviant” behaviour.
Science journalist and author Linda Geddes believes: “If you don’t get enough sleep, research suggests you are more likely to engage with unethical and deviant behaviour, such as being mean, bullying your fellow employees or falsifying receipts.
“But it’s not just night owls: Early larks tend to behave more unethically in the evening, and owls in the morning. So, ideally, you want to introduce flexible working.”
We’re often split into larks, who wake early, peak in energy, mood and productivity in the mornings, and owls, who perform best later in the day, or even at night.
There could be a potential problem at work if say, you’re an owl and your manger is a lark, Geddes says. “Lark managers tend to perceive owlish workers who start later or just don’t get going until 10 am as less competent. And if you’re an owl forced to start work early, you’re going to have to curb your sleep.”
We know that logical reasoning peaks mid-morning, problemsolving improves in the early afternoon and all of us suffer a post-lunch dip in alertness in the afternoon. So, there could be a mismatch between larks and owls in the office.
Flexi-working can help
In her book Chasing the Sun, Geddes proposes that flexiworking would “help to level the playing field, it could boost workplace productivity and employees’ health and happiness… such an approach could create a more harmonious and morally sound workplace”.
Sufficient sleep is also a factor in office harmony. A study found workers who get less than six hours of sleep are more likely to behave badly, with researchers pinpointing a link between sleep deprivation and glucose levels in the cerebral cortex, the brain region responsible for self-control.
Get more exposure to light
Then there’s light. “We should be getting more exposure to bright light, ideally by getting outdoors, but if we can’t do that, use artificial lights. And, in the evening, we need to dim the lights,” Geddes said.
A US experiment found that employees who were exposed to more daylight took less time to fall asleep and slept longer. Workers who saw more light from 8 am to noon slept 20 minutes longer and took just 18 minutes on average to fall asleep — compared to their colleagues’ 45 minutes.