Social Jetlag Makes Workers Less Productive, Study Says
Summary: Research shows that people with social jetlag and insomnia are the least productive.
The research
Data collected from smartphones of about 80,000 Japanese workers showed that those suffering from social jetlag and insomnia were the least productive. Social jetlag is “misalignment of one’s internal body clock and social schedule’.
The finding
The findings by the researchers of the University of Tsukuba, who examined various parameters like total sleep time, sleep latency, time taken to fall asleep, and the percentage of wakefulness after the onset of sleep, were based on a questionnaire filled out by the participants.
The findings were published in the journal ‘npj Digital Medicine’. They show a U-shaped link between the duration of sleep and productivity at the workplace, wherein short and long sleep resulted in reduced productivity at work.
The sleep phenotypes
The findings classified five types of sleep :
- Healthy sleepers
- Long sleepers
- Fragmented sleepers
- Poor sleepers
- Social jetlaggers
Of these, poor sleepers and social jetlaggers were the worst: with insomnia, daytime sleepiness and presenteeism (reduced productivity at work). Those with long sleep and fragmented sleep showed poor productivity levels.
Conclusion
The duration of sleep, along with other factors like quality, timing and regularity of sleep, is used to determine productivity at work.
The smartphone-based tracking is a tool to identify the at-risk individuals, who can then work on themselves and improve their lifestyle and productivity.
Precautions to be taken by pregnant women are :
- Cool down: Use air conditioners in the bedroom and try not to move outdoors.
- Hydrate: Stay hydrated to prevent dehydration.
- Be cool: Soak hands, arms and feet in cool water to cool the body.
- Humidity check: Stay safe from humidity.
- Air quality: Monitor air quality as pollution elevates heat conditions.
Source: Inputs from various media Sources
- Health News and Updates,People Forum
- 22 January 2026
- 11:00
