The Covid-19 pandemic, besides heaping unprecedented hardships on people, has provided many an opportunity to work from home. This was an unexpected result of the pandemic, which for the past eight months, has created havoc throughout the world. The pandemic has undoubtedly provided people a chance to be closer to their families without interrupting their work cycle. Working from home is not a new phenomenon, as many freelancers are doing so for many years. However, for an individual accustomed to the 9-to-5 routine combined with the commuting and the stress of office life, it seemed like a blessing in disguise. People were given the freedom to remain with their families, stop commuting, and begin working or closing down for the day whenever they wished. Many people considered working from home as a goal for overall work-life balance. At the same time, many reported higher stress levels when working from home because they didn’t know how to balance work and sleep.

Working from Home Does Not Mean People Should Neglect Sleep

Working from home undoubtedly has its advantages and comes with a set of downsides that hit people hard unexpectedly. Most people tend to let work interfere with their natural sleep patterns. Perhaps people do not understand the benefits of good sleep and believe their new working pattern allows them to get into bed whenever they want. The pattern of working from home is interpreted differently by every individual. Some believe it provides them the freedom to stay away from their hectic 9-to-5 schedules while others genuinely miss the mobile lives they were accustomed to. However, most do not understand why sleep is an essential part of their health. The only concentrate on the fact that they can work in an atmosphere less stressful than their office and more personal freedom. People are glued to their screens whether at their desks or in bed resulting in a lack of sleep, which causes even more stress than they believe.

Why Sleep Is More Essential Part of the Health?

People must understand the reasons mentioned by South Florida ENT associates who understand the reasons why sleep is an essential part of their lives. Any changes to their sleeping pattern can affect people in different ways, some of which are mentioned below:

• Insufficient sleep is linked to higher body weight.
• Good sleep improves concentration and productivity.
• Poor sleepers are at risk of heart disease and strokes.
• Sleep can affect the metabolism of glucose and the risk of type II diabetes.
• Poor sleepers are at a higher risk of depression.
• While sleep can improve people’s immune systems, poor sleep can increase inflammation in the body.
• Sleep can affect social interactions and emotions.

Dr. Mark T Agrama from this facility advises people to get sufficient sleep if they wish to be productive when working from home by concentrating on their jobs rather than all the adverse effects associated with the lack of sleep.

How Can People Get Sufficient Sleep When Working from Home?

People must understand the difference between working from home and the office and set boundaries for themselves. The lack of limitations is the most significant obstacle people have to overcome. Flexible working hours can become lengthy when people struggle to battle distractions while attempting to accomplish every task assigned to them. They can also become too relaxed to make people feel entitled to their time because they do not recognize they are interrupting working hours with the WFH schedule. People can quickly slip into less healthy sleep schedules by spending time on social media during working hours, realizing the risk of others walking into their workspace, and demanding to know why they are on social media does not exist. For some reason, people do not realize they must create a work structure at home and self impose it upon themselves because it can be challenging to function efficiently without it. The difficulty of setting boundaries is another challenge people need to overcome. The most important among them is avoiding mobile devices, which can become inherently stressful and can harm the sleep schedule. Studies conducted by the UN state that 42% of people working from home reported frequent night waking compared to just 29% of people working on-site. Poor sleep can indeed create significant stress throughout the day, which people should be looking forward to avoiding. People can protect their sleep by avoiding mobile devices late at night. They must realize sleep is essential for productivity and concentration and therefore, must set bedtime and stick to it without exceptions.