Social Jetlag, Insomnia Can Contribute To Major Productivity Loss: Study

An analysis of smartphone-collected sleep data from nearly 80,000 Japanese workers found that productivity loss was highest among individuals identified as "social jetlaggers" and "insomnia-prone" groups.

Social jetlag refers to misalignment in one's internal body clock and social schedule.

Researchers at the University of Tsukuba examined parameters such as total sleep time, sleep latency -- time taken to fall asleep -- and the percentage of wakefulness after sleep onset, which were linked to participants productivity loss scores obtained through questionnaires.

The findings, published in the journal 'npj Digital Medicine', show a U-shaped link between sleep duration and workplace productivity, with both short and long sleep related to reduced output at work.

The authors also identified five sleep phenotypes: "healthy sleepers", "long sleepers", "fragmented sleepers", "poor sleepers" and "social jetlaggers".

"The latter two clusters showed the worst scores for insomnia, daytime sleepiness, and presenteeism (reduced workplace productivity)," they said.

Further, individuals with longer sleep latency, frequent awakenings during sleep, and a greater social jetlag exhibited lower performance, the team said.

The findings also highlighted that, along with sleep duration, factors such as quality, timing and regularity are associated with workplace functioning, the authors said.

Smartphone-based tracking may offer a scalable means of identifying at-risk individuals and informing future personalised strategies, they added.

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