The office worker’s lament: “I don’t sleep well”

Original source: The Guardian

Ella is in her 30s, and works in a busy office in London. “Until two years ago,” she says, “I could sleep like a baby for 14 hours, but I think stress and the occasional glass of wine have had an impact on my sleep. 

“What I find now is that it’s not hard to get to sleep, but I wake up three or four times during the night, and never feel hugely rested in the morning. I don’t remember the last time I had a full, uninterrupted night’s sleep. And in terms of the times I sleep best, Friday night is definitely always the best, and Sunday night is the worst.”

Stressed office workers never seem to get enough sleep and therefore may snooze at their desk during the day.

Source: kei907/ Shutterstock

Ella is typical in many ways. People working in busy office jobs are very frequently stressed, and on Friday nights they sleep best, because there is less stress, while on Sunday night the prospect of a demanding week causes poor sleep. Alcohol tends to lead to disrupted sleep, not to relaxing into good sleep. External pressures from Ella’s work are causing a problem – and drinking before sleep makes it worse.

… People working in busy office jobs are very frequently stressed

Annie works in the same office as Ella, and says she’s suffered from insomnia since she was a teenager. “I wake up at 3am, and can’t get back to sleep. This used to stress me out, which obviously exacerbates the problem, so as I’ve got older I’ve stopped worrying about it so much. This doesn’t make the problem better, but it means I just accept that there are nights when I won’t get a good enough sleep. 

“Sunday night is always my worst night’s sleep, and I try to be strict with myself – I stop myself going online for a few hours before I go to bed, and I don’t read anything work-related in that period either. I try to avoid email, especially, because there’s always pressure to get back to emails immediately, and once you’re in that zone, you’re wired.”