These days, burning the midnight oil has become almost a badge of honor. Whether you’re stuck late in the office or connecting via laptop as soon as you get home, no one blinks twice if you tell them you stayed up half the night working.
Technology makes it all too easy to continue projects long after 5 p.m., feeding the desire you may have to complete a task and check one more thing off of your to-do list. Even if you aren’t feeling especially enthusiastic about late-night work, in some workplace cultures you might find yourself doing it anyway if you sense that your team or boss expects it.
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More After-Hours Desk Time Equals More Problems
Is staying up late to get the job done a smart move for productivity or a short-sighted one? According to Popular Science, when you put yourself into a state of sleep deprivation by getting less than the recommended minimum of seven hours shut-eye over the short term, the effect on your work is similar to being drunk. If you really push it and stay up for 19 hours straight on a late-night work bender, you’re at risk of experiencing a mental impairment akin to a 0.05 percent blood alcohol level.
The stats get worse if your occasional anti-snooze habit morphs into a chronic one. Research shows that over a 10-year period, getting five or fewer hours of nightly sleep translates to a 45 percent greater risk of a heart attack. This type of sleep pattern has also been linked with a slew of other health problems, from increased risk of cancer and diabetes to obesity and mood disorders.
If you’re not deterred by the risk of poor health, keep in mind that working too late too often seriously hurts your productivity and effectiveness rather than helping it. All-nighters are particularly dangerous in this sense, since they’re associated with a greater risk of cognitive errors due to hits to your concentration, memory and mental processing. What’s more, contrary to popular belief, researchers found that the concept of being able to simply “catch up on sleep” by sleeping in more later on — say the following week after a week of poor sleeping — doesn’t really work.
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Putting a Lid on Late Work Nights
So how late should you plug away trying to get something done? Some research suggests that this answer depends on who you are and how your brain is structured. One German study found differences in the brains of classic “night owls” — people who feel naturally inclined to stay up later — versus early morning risers.
The key, though, as to whether night owls are getting enough sleep is whether they can compensate on the back end by staying in bed longer the next morning to get their minimum of seven hours and avoid sleep deprivation. And for those who need to be in the office at a certain time each day, this won’t likely happen with any regularity (or at all unless you hit the snooze button and call in to arrive late or take a sick day).
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Genetic and biological differences aside, there are still steps that you can take to reclaim nighttime for sleeping and get the rest you need before your alarm goes off. Here are some strategies to put you back on track toward a more balanced approach to working that allows enough pillow time:
— Limit late-night light. The blue light that screens emit is part of the vicious cycle that may be keeping you from sleeping. You stay up to work late on your computer or answer email on your smartphone, and the next thing you know, you’re not tired at all and decide to start another project. The issue here is that blue wavelengths from electronic devices disrupt your body’s biological clock, according to Harvard Medical School. Try powering down your electronic gadgets at least an hour before you plan to hit the hay.
— Stick to a regular sleep schedule (of enough hours of sleep). If you feel trapped in a habit of working too late, it can help to set a regular bedtime and commit to honoring it regularly, not just occasionally. It’s important, though, to be sure that the bedtime you select allows seven to eight hours before you need to wake up the next morning. So if you go to bed at 11 p.m., you can plan to awaken at 6 or 7 a.m. and still have a healthy sleep.
— Create evening rituals to shift gears. Once you’re on a roll with late-night work, it can be challenging to slow down and think about sleeping. Deciding on some intentionally soothing activities that you can practice before bed can be a big help in going more gently into that good night. Reading for pleasure, drinking a cup of hot tea (decaffeinated please!) or taking a soak in a bubble bath are all excellent choices for nighttime rituals. While watching television may feel like you’re relaxing, remember that it counts as screen time that exposes you to blue light, which will ultimately make falling asleep harder.
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How Late Should You Stay Up Working? originally appeared on usnews.com
