Is Remote Working Affecting Your Sleep Quality?

Is remote work stealing your sleep?

You finally created your work-from-home lifestyle. Gone are the days of energy-draining commutes and wearing stuffy penguin suits from top to bottom. You take Zoom calls with a dress shirt paired with Pikachu pajama bottoms. You perfectly juggle between life and work. But, of late, something’s not quite right. Tiredness has taken over your day, so you drugged yourself up to your eyeballs with three cups of coffee - minimum. Does this sound like you? (That’s tea for me as a Brit.)

Have you ever considered that your very dream of working remotely might actually be responsible for your poor night’s sleep?

Naturally, you thought remote work at home would solve all your problems. It offers you more time, less stress, and work-life balance. However, the opposite could happen. Rather than balancing effortlessly, you find your mind in a constant struggle to switch off. Then, you start to see your sleep quality go down. What's more, when your home is your office, the lines blur and your body finds it hard to make a distinction between the two. On top, another ‘ping’ of an email before bed might turn into another hour-long work session. In no time, you end up on call 27/4. Eventually, your off-switch stops working. You toss and turn constantly in bed and hours later, you're still wide awake like a zombie.

The Price of “Always On”

The freedom to work remotely often comes at a price: the need to prove to yourself you’re working hard. Without the four walls of an office, you may feel pressure to reply to another email at night or take calls at dinner.

When you’re on red alert all the time, it makes relaxing and getting ready for sleep quite difficult. Plus, screens from your computer and your phone emit blue light which can mess up your natural sleep cycle. Falling asleep and staying asleep becomes an uphill struggle.

Are you suffering from remote work sleep deprivation?

Be honest with yourself! Check to see if you are by asking yourself the following questions:

• Do you find yourself working past your designated "off" hours more often than not?

• Is your bedroom now also your office, blurring the lines between rest and work?

• Do you feel guilty or anxious if you aren't checking emails or working on something in the evenings?

• Is your sleep pattern inconsistent, varying wildly depending on your workload?

• Do you rely on caffeine or other stimulants to get through the day, only to crash later?

If your answers to most of them were ‘yes’, it’s time to acknowledge that some aspects of your work-from-home lifestyle may be disturbing your sleep patterns. Rather than being stressed over it, recognizing that you have a problem is a step in the right direction.

What to do about it?

Take small, consistent changes to avoid overwhelm and despair (I know I did!). When I say small, it should be something that doesn’t feel like a hike. It should feel as easy as tying your right shoe first instead of your left. For now, focus on the following areas:

Set up specified working hours: Choose a specific time to work, then stick to it as much as possible. Out of hours – switch off all work-related notifications and don’t check that email, even if you’re tempted! Resist and desist!

Create a Sleep Sanctuary(if you have space!): Designate your bedroom as a place for rest and no work (this is ideal, I know, but not always possible if you’re an introvert who has no other space at home! We will look at strategies for this another time.) Keep your room dark, quiet and cool.

Prepare to sleep: Set up a routine before bed so that your mind unwinds. This could include activities like reading, having a warm bath, meditating, prayer or even listening to music. More importantly, no screens for an hour before bed. You need to be consistent so that it sends a clear signal to your body that it's time to go to sleep.

Taking back your nights:

Working from home should not interfere with your sleep. By acknowledging the problem and making small but gradual changes, you can be one-step closer to reclaiming control of your nights. Start now with one or all of the suggestions and work at it. Inaction could cost you another night’s sleep. Next time we will look deeper into the consequences of sleep deprivation and provide more detailed tactics to help you sleep better!