Dozing at work - among American workers, 47% report sleeplessness

American Demographics, March, 1998 by Matthew Klein

Forty-seven percent of American workers experienced at least one episode of sleeplessness in the past three months, according to a 1995 survey by the National Sleep Foundation. Two-thirds of those who had trouble sleeping say they had a harder time getting through the day as a result.

The familiar culprits of stress, anxiety, and worrying contribute to most long nights spent staring at the ceiling. But aches and pains may also be a factor. Forty-eight percent of sleepless workers blame stress, anxiety, and worrying. Although they do not report pain as the main reason for sleeplessness, 42 percent of workers say their inability to sleep was accompanied by physical discomfort.

Workers who have trouble sleeping experience it on a fairly regular basis, an average of eight times per month. And there are indications that the trouble is more severe when the workday is near. Forty-nine percent of the people with sleep problems sleep six or fewer hours on a typical work night. On weekends, the share drops to 30 percent.

A rough night can wreak havoc at work the next day. Sixty-three percent of workers who have trouble sleeping say it's harder to handle stress on the job, and 60 percent say they have difficulty concentrating. More than half find it hard to listen or solve problems.

When asked to quantify these problems, people say that after a sleepless night their concentration is only 70 percent of normal, they accomplish about 76 percent of what they usually can do, and the quality of their work only reaches 80 percent of normal. This opinion of the bad effects of sleeplessness carries over to others who don't get enough rest. More than eight in ten people believe that their coworkers' problem-solving, concentration, and ability to handle stress decline when they don't get enough sleep.

For more information, contact the National Sleep Foundation; telephone (202) 347-3471. The survey "Sleeplessness, Pain, and the Workplace" was conducted by Louis Harris & Associates, Inc.