Poor sleep directly undermines performance at work — it impairs attention, reaction time, memory, decision-making and motivation, and is linked to more absence, more mistakes and lower productivity. Insomnia carries a substantial cost for individuals, employers and the wider economy. The encouraging news is that treating sleep difficulties works: CBT-I, recommended by NICE and the NHS as the first-line treatment for chronic insomnia, improves both sleep and daytime functioning, and even simple workplace measures can make a measurable difference.
This page looks at how insomnia affects the workplace — the impact on individual performance, the costs to organisations, and the practical steps employers and employees can take to protect sleep and the functioning that depends on it.
How does poor sleep affect performance at work?
Disrupted sleep is associated with a decline in a wide range of cognitive functions, including attention, reaction time, memory, decision-making, visual-motor and verbal performance, impulse control and motivation. These deficits can reduce the quality and safety of many kinds of work — from desk-based roles where concentration and judgement matter, to safety-critical jobs where slowed reactions carry real risk.
Workers who report insomnia tend to take more days off, receive lower performance ratings and experience more health problems. The effects are not only felt by the individual; they ripple out to teams, employers and customers.
What does insomnia cost?
The economic impact of poor sleep can be both direct (the cost of medical care) and indirect (absence from work, reduced productivity, more errors and accidents, and lower creativity and innovation). Studies have estimated that absence due to sleep difficulties costs employers very large sums each year, and that chronic sleep problems cost national economies enormous amounts annually through lost productivity and millions of lost working days.
A significant proportion of adults regularly sleep less than the recommended seven or more hours a night, and chronic insomnia is one of the most common reasons. The result is a steady, often hidden, drain on workplace performance.
What can employers do to support sleep?
Research shows that even simple, targeted efforts by employers can improve employees’ sleep quality and reduce complaints of daytime sleepiness. Better sleep, in turn, can improve quality of life, reduce absence, lower error rates and raise productivity. Practical measures include:
- Providing sleep education for all staff
- Allowing short naps during breaks where appropriate
- Offering access to a professional with expertise in sleep difficulties
- Adjusting the work environment — for example lighting — to support alertness and wellbeing
- Setting sensible limits on the number of hours that can be worked within any 24-hour period and across a week
- Allowing a minimum of 10–11 continuous hours between finishing work and starting again, so there is room for at least seven hours’ sleep
What can you do if insomnia is affecting your work?
If poor sleep is starting to affect your concentration, mood or performance, it is worth treating the sleep problem directly rather than simply trying to push through. Cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) is recommended by NICE, the NHS and the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) as the first-line treatment for chronic insomnia, ahead of sleeping tablets. It addresses the habits and thinking patterns that keep insomnia going, with benefits that last — which is precisely why it tends to restore daytime functioning, not just night-time sleep.
In summary
Insomnia is not just a night-time problem — it follows people into the workplace, affecting performance, safety and wellbeing, and carrying a significant cost for employers and the economy. But it is highly treatable. With sensible workplace measures and, where needed, an evidence-based treatment such as CBT-I, both sleep and daytime functioning can improve substantially.