In a recent Economist Debate Series the motion, “This house believes that we are not getting enough sleep,” was carried by a vote of 75%. It is interesting to note that although most voters would like an extra hour of sleep in the morning, they don’t intend mending their ways by going to bed an hour earlier.
For the motion, Dr Robert Stickgold of the Harvard Medical School argued that people who do not get enough shut-eye become “fat, sick and stupid” as a result. What came as a rude awakening to me was that Dr Dan Kripke of the University of California, San Diego, who argued against the motion, reckoned that too much sleep has similar consequences.
Sleeping on the job
So it seems that not only do we need to achieve a balance during our waking hours, but during our sleeping too. Knowing this may cause us to lie awake at night worrying whether we’re getting too little or too much sleep. No wonder there are never any clean coffee mugs in the kitchen.
I feel quite irritated when people nod off at meetings or at their desk, yawn when you speak to them, or are not alert enough to give of their best. If it is not caused by some medical condition, I think it shows bad manners and disrespect to other employees who are wide awake. But I’m not sure what to do about it.
The thing is, as their leader, are you allowed to ask your people if they are getting too little, or too much, sleep? And if so, what can you do about it?
