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Sleep Deprivation And Productivity: Harvard Professor Explains Need For Shift Schedule Change (VIDEO)

Posted: 03/12/2012 9:14 am EDT

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As part of National Sleep Awareness Week, the National Sleep Foundation's annual campaign to remind people about the importance and value of sleep, The Huffington Post and The Forum at Harvard School of Public Health collaborated on a live webcast event titled "Fighting the Clock: How America's Sleep Deficit is Damaging Longterm Health."

In this highlight from the event, Charles Czeisler, M.D. Ph.D., chief of the division of sleep medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and professor and director of the division of sleep medicine at Harvard Medical School, explains the findings from a study of factory workers that examined sleep habits and productivity. The study found that some simple changes in the schedule lead to a 20 percent increase in productivity and also better results on the health indices measured. It's a win-win, he says, for tired workers and money-conscious employers. "Health improves simultaneously, but the factories are motivated by an increase in productivity," Dr. Czeisler explains.

Do you feel over-tired at work, to the point where it hurts your performance? Tell us in the comments below.

For more on sleep, click here.

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As part of National Sleep Awareness Week, the National Sleep Foundation's annual campaign to remind people about the importance and value of sleep, The Huffington Post and The Forum at Harvard School ...
As part of National Sleep Awareness Week, the National Sleep Foundation's annual campaign to remind people about the importance and value of sleep, The Huffington Post and The Forum at Harvard School ...
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InventPeace
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02:35 PM on 03/12/2012
Eating a good non fattening breakfast along with a very light workout helps too... (it takes a week for it to take effect). Did you know that people who quit caffeine (coffee, tea, etc) sleep for up to 15 hours "After" the 2-3 days it taks to leave your system? shows that caffeine in little doses can help but over time it keeps you hyped up and then you are actually more run down because your never really resting as deeply as you would without caffeine. (Wondering how many wars, tragedies, could've been avoided if the leaders or perpetrators were not drinking tons of caffeine, alcohol, nicotine, etc; the british actually used to "stop" a raging battle for tea time, then go right back to battle (crazy sounding but purported to be true), FDR, and Churchhill reported both drank like fish. (truth is sometimes stranger than fiction)
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