Over the past year many people have made the transition to working from home. Dropping the daily commute and wearing business casual sweat pants to work are just some of the perks, but what happens when working from home impacts sleep? Sleep and quality of sleep are two of the key factors that determine overall health. The lack of sleep has been proven to influence everything from metabolic disease, memory loss, weight gain and even mood disorders.
With the lack of commute, this should allow for more sleep time (as most people are not sleeping the optimal amount). View your regular start time as the time you will begin at your home office and don’t deviate. Keeping a regular schedule between “work time” and “home time” will help balance your sleep drive. Even if your work is flexible, try to maintain your regular schedule and avoid the temptation to sleep an extra hour and work an extra hour at the end of the day.
Balance your sleep cycle. Keep your awake/sleep hours regular even on weekends. Set your alarm for the same time every morning. Trying to catch up on a sleep debt on the weekend is actually disrupting the circadian clock, which in turn makes it harder to fall asleep and stay asleep.
Get early morning sunlight exposure. In order to help your awake/rest hormones flowing, your body needs early morning sunlight exposure. Early morning sunlight also helps to make you feel alert. Try taking an early morning walk before work to help with concentration and overall health.
Avoid social media during the day or take a social break. Stay off social media to be more productive at home. This will help you finish your tasks on time and give you evening recreational time.
Don’t eat meals while working. Let your work time be your work time and let your rest and digest time be separate from that. This can help prevent overeating, which will also impact sleep quality.
Stand up every 20 minutes and shake off the effects of sitting. This is not only important for how your body feels but also standing breaks lower all cause mortality (those who take frequent sitting breaks live longer!)
Have “working lights” and “resting lights”. Keep your work time lights bright and stimulating. Once you are done work for the day, switch your lights to a darker/incandescent setting to help your brain transition from work to rest.
Let your bedroom be your sanctuary . Your bedroom should be dark and quiet. All forms of distraction should be removed, this includes office paperwork, computers, phones/devices, TVs or anything else that causes distraction.
Hopefully the transition to working form home hasn’t impacted your quality of sleep. If it has, do not despair, you can always work on improving sleep hygiene to get back on track!
None of the information provided on this website should be substituted for medical evaluation, diagnosis, or treatment from a licensed healthcare practitioner. We would be happy to discuss your situation with you one on one to determine what’s best for your situation.
References:
Yuan, Robin K et al. “Tips for circadian sleep health while working from home.” Southwest journal of pulmonary & critical care vol. 20,4 (2020): 126-127.