Quick question: How many hours did you sleep last night?
If you made it to eight hours, chances are youre not a newbie parent.
But what about the rest of us?
The ambitious interns, the middle managers, the entry-level employees?
Why is this a problem?
People are less productive and more prone to illness when they dont get enough sleep.
A2017 studyby the Erasmus University Rotterdam showed that people tend to misbehave the day after a bad nights sleep.
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Hes a sleep researcher and CEO ofhumanOS.me, a personal health performance platform.
So how much sleep do we need, anyway?
Are you fighting an infection or are you recovering from a hard workout from the day before?
All of this can cause variation into how much sleep you actually need night by night.
Employers cant force their workers to go to bed on time.
Getting paid to sleep more
To some extent, technology can help facilitate healthy sleeping habits.
Some employers are already experimenting with such tools to get workers in bed.
Mattress company Casperpromotes healthy habitsby paying employees for being well-rested (exercising is rewarded as well).
Others stimulate napping at work, so employees can get a little break in between working hours.
Ben & Jerrys was one of the first businesses to install a napping room more than 10 years ago.
The soundscapes are based on insights frompsychoacoustics, the scientific field that studies sound perception.
Were still in the early stages of understanding how this works, says Pardi.
An interesting area being explored is the utilization of pinknoise during sleep.
Its similar to white noise, but with sounds balanced across the frequency spectrum.
A cheaper alternative would be to download one of the many pink noise apps available in the app stores.
Or so is the idea.
And during the darker winter months, EDGE Olympic has circadian lighting.
We hope this helps people to betterconcentrate during the day and sleep deeper at night.
Do we really need more tech to solve an issue thats partly because of tech?
Peering at our smartphones at night just to see whether our kids are still asleep?
Technology can be a powerful tool to enhance healthy habits, says Pardi.
Thats not how it works.
A cultural change is needed as well.
Employers could offer flexible working hours, for example, to better fit their workers needs and sleeping habits.
Pardi considers it his mission to spread the gospel of personal health for professional performance.
Things are changing, he notes.
In his inauguration speech, Bill Clinton mentioned he would work day and night for the American public.
Get informed, stay up to date on sleep research and offer support where possible.
Once you do, everybody wins.
Story byAnouk Vleugels
As Publisher, Anouk is responsible for TNW’s overall media strategy.
