Losing out on just 16 minutes of sleep could affect your job performance at the office next day, a new study says.
Researchers said getting less shut-eye than usual was associated with poor judgement and getting easily distracted at work. Workers also reported that this caused an increase in their stress levels, which led to a less productive day.
The team, from the University of South Florida, is now calling on workplaces to promote their employees' sleep by lightening their workloads and not making them work so much overtime.
Lead author Dr Soomi Lee, an assistant professor at the School of Aging Studies at the University of South Florida, said the inspiration for the study came from observations of her own life. For the study, published in the journal Sleep Health, the team surveyed 130 adults who work in information technology.
Participants were asked several questions including what time they went to bed and woke up, how many hours and minutes they slept and how they would rate their sleep quality. They were also asked on a scale from zero to four - with zero meaning 'never' and four meaning 'very often' - if they had trouble concentrating, if they had worries, or if they struggled to avoid certain thoughts.
Researchers found that adults who spent 16 minutes less than usual reported worse quality sleep and more cognitive issues, specifically when it came to focusing.
