How sleep deprivation affects your work

You don't have to stay up all night to feel bad the next day. Doctors say that if you regularly get less than 7 hours of sleep, your work will suffer. It's not hard to tell if you're losing sleep. The signs are very clear: you're often tired, it takes you more time to do your job and it's generally hard for you to concentrate.

Sleep deprivation affects your brain activities in more than one way:

Reduced attention and concentration When you're not having enough sleep one of the very first symptoms to watch out for is the difficulty to focus. Does your mind often drift while at work?

Longer reaction time This can be a serious problem in some jobs leading to work injuries. But even if you have the safest office job in the world if it takes you longer to react while driving you may put your life and others' at risk.

Poor decision-making Due to reduced attention and concentration, your decision-making ability will suffer too. Digesting all the information relation to the decision and thinking out of the box are going to be difficult if you can't concentrate and find yourself distracted a lot, Kazinform has learnt from the Arab News.

Weak memory Your ability to learn and retain new information may be impaired due lack of sleep. Having a good night sleep is necessary for consolidating information and being able to recall them the next day.

Grumpiness Ever heard of your friend's grumpy boss? it could be that he/she is not getting enough sleep. If you don't get your dose of a good night sleep you wake up in a bad mood. It's exactly the same with children if they don't get their nap; they become irritable and weepy.

While it is advised that you sleep well, in case of having slept for very few hours, you can still survive a day at work if you follow the following tips:

Caffeine Drink caffeinated coffee, tea, or soda but in moderation. Try to have your dose early in the day since it takes hours for its effect to wear off. Keep in mind though: there's no substitute to sleep.

Exercise It might be difficult to exercise at work but if you have a chance, have a run around the block during the break or even better, start your day at the gym. Exercise is known to release endorphins, which makes you sharper and more alert.

Eat up If you haven't had enough sleep last night, chances are you're using up all your energy trying to concentrate. To boost your energy, grab an apple or any type of fruit that is full of good sugar. Meals that consist mainly of proteins would take a lot of energy to digest, which will put you into a food coma and if you opt for carbohydrates, you will most probably deal with a major crash later on.

Bright light Our bodies are biologically engineered to wake up when there's light out. Luckily you can somewhat fool your body into alertness by turning up indoor light. You can combine exercise with exposure to the light by taking a walk outside for the best results.