Simple workplace interventions, like educating employees about the importance of sleep and providing behavioral sleep strategies, may produce beneficial results, according to a new review.
Results show that in most studies, employer-sponsored efforts to encourage improved sleep hygiene and healthier habits have yielded improvements in sleep duration and sleep quality, as well as a decrease in self-reported sleepiness complaints. While the most common workplace interventions were educational programs emphasizing sleep hygiene or fatigue management, other interventions included napping at specific times before or after work, urging increased daytime activity levels, modifying workplace environmental characteristics such as lighting, and screening and referral for sleep disorders treatment.
“These studies suggest employer-sponsored efforts can improve sleep and sleep-related outcomes,” said lead author Nancy S. Redeker, PhD, RN, FAHA, FAAN, a Beatrice Renfield Term Professor of Nursing at the Yale School of Nursing in Orange, Connecticut. “Improving sleep also may lead to better quality of life and decreased absenteeism from work.”
The review is published in the April 15 issue of the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine. It was conducted by representatives of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and Sleep Research Society (SRS) as part of the National Healthy Sleep Awareness Project, a five-year cooperative agreement that concluded in 2018.
Read more at American Academy of Sleep Medicine
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