The medical community advises individuals to ensure that they have had enough sleep. Those who are deprived of sufficient sleep experience negative health and productivity outcomes. For example, sleep deprivation has been blamed for declines in worker productivity. The negative impacts of sleep deprivation are the subject of an article that appeared in the online edition of the Telegraph newspaper. The article authored by Sarah Knapton examines the challenges faced by parents who do not have enough sleep.
Article summary
Knapton discusses the experiences of parents with a newborn child. She states that these parents are required to attend to the child and this deprives them of sleep. Knapton mentions that when one’s sleep time is reduced by just one hour, their productivity declines by a whopping 11% (Knapton, 2017). She quotes experts who believe that the economic performance suffers as humans become fatigued as a result of inadequate sleep. These experts believe that sleep deprivation has not received adequate attention. For this reason, economies continue to perform poorly as individuals get less and less sleep. Knapton blames such issues as the disturbances created by children for the inability of parents to enjoy sufficient sleep (Knapton, 2017). Knapton quotes research findings which suggest that additional hours of sleep can increase the level of productivity. Overall, Knapton’s article establishes inadequate sleep as among the factors responsible for declines in productivity.
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Theory and research
The theory of wake state instability can be relied on to understand how sleep deprivation affects performance. This theory holds that an individual who is deprived of sleep encounters two competing forces that demand their attention. Each of these forces seeks to shape the behavior of the individual (Goel et al., 2009). The result of the contest between the two forces is a decline in productivity. This theory suggests that there is indeed a link between sleep deprivation and productivity. This link is reinforced by findings from scientific investigations. One such investigation was conducted by Paula Alhola and Paivi Polo-Kantola. They set out to examine the impacts of sleep deprivation on cognitive performance. They found that sleep deprivation has the effect of hindering efficient and optimal performance of the cognitive faculties (Alhola & Polo-Kantola, 2007). Essentially, this means that productivity suffers when one is deprived of sleep. Since a productive workforce is an integral component of any economy, no effort should be spared in ensuring that individuals have enough sleep.
References
Alhola, P., & Paolo-Kantola, P. (2007). Sleep Deprivation: Impact on Cognitive Performance.
Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment, 3 (5), 553-567.
Goel, N., Rao, H., Durmer, J. S., Dinges, D. F. (2009). Neurocognitive Consequences of Sleep
Deprivation. Seminars in Neurology, 29 (4), 320-339.
Knapton, S. (2017). Crying Babies can Reduce Household Income by 11 per cent an hour.
Retrieved 27 th April 2017 from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2017/04/12/crying-babies-can-reduce-household-income-11-per-cent-hour/
