Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

How better sleep can improve productivity

Struggling to get a good night’s rest after a long day in the lab? Sleep specialists offer some advice.
  1. Nikki Forrester

    1. Nikki Forrester is a science journalist based in Davis, West Virginia.

    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed  Google Scholar

Find a new job

Sleep has a profound impact on human health, improving attention, memory, emotional regulation and work performance, and reducing the risk of disease1,2. But over the past few decades, the amount of sleep that people get has declined substantially. A 2012 study3 of some 690,000 children from 20 countries found that nightly sleep duration fell by more than an hour from 1905 to 2008. Nearly one-third of adults in the United States sleep for less than six hours per night2, and sleep duration has dropped since the 1960s for adults in Japan, Russia, Finland, Germany, Belgium and Austria4.

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Nature 619, 659-661 (2023)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-02307-z

Updates & Corrections

  • Correction 25 October 2023: This Career feature erroneously stated that ref. 3 was published in 2017.

References

  1. Matricciani, L. et al. Sleep Health 3, 317–323 (2017).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Sheehan, C. M., Frochen, S. E., Walsemann, K. M. & Ailshire, J. A. Sleep 42, zsy221 (2019).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Matricciani, L., Olds, T. & Petkov, J. Sleep Med. Rev. 16, 203–211 (2012).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Bin, Y. S., Marshall, N. S. & Glozier, N. Sleep Med. Rev. 16, 223–230 (2012).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Tandon, A., Kaur, P., Dhir, A. & Mäntymäki, M. Comput. Human Behav. 113, 106487 (2020).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Berger, H. Archiv f. Psychiatrie 87, 527–570 (1929).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Loomis, A. L., Harvey, E. N. & Hobart, G. A. J. Exp. Psychol. 21, 127–144 (1937).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Patel, A. K., Reddy, V., Shumway, K. R. & Araujo, J. F. StatPearls (Treasure Island, 2023).

    Google Scholar 

  9. Miller, K. E. & Gehrman, P. R. Curr. Biol. 29, R806–R807 (2019).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Cai, D. J., Mednick, S. A., Harrison, E. M., Kanady, J. C. & Mednick, S. C. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 106, 10130–10134 (2009).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Rao, R. & Tripathi, R. in Sleep and Neuropsychiatric Disorders 811–833 (Springer, 2022).

    Google Scholar 

  12. Silvani, M. I., Werder, R. & Perret, C. Front. Physiol. 13, 943108 (2022).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Yang, P.-Y., Ho, K.-H., Chen, H.-C. & Chien, M.-Y. J. Physiother. 58, 157–163 (2012).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Hirotsu, C., Tufik, S. & Levy Andersen, M. Sleep Sci. 8, 143–152 (2015).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. McCarthy, M. E. & Waters, W. F. Sleep 20, 115–123 (1997).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Van Dongen, H. P. A., Maislin, G., Mullington, J. M. & Dinges, D. F. Sleep 26, 117–126 (2003).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Rusch, H. L. et al. Ann. NY Acad. Sci. 1445, 5–16 (2018).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Dube, N., Khan, K., Loehr, S., Chu, Y. & Veugelers, P. Int. J. Behav. Nutrition Phys. Activity 14, 97 (2017).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Landolt, H.-P. Biochem. Pharmacol. 75, 2070–2079 (2008).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Datta, K. et al. Natl Med. J. India 34, 143–150 (2021).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Dickson, G. T. & Schubert, E. Front. Psychol. 11, 1695 (2020).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Subjects

Latest on:

Nature Careers

Jobs

  • W3 Professorship in "Buiatrics" (m/f/d)

    Job advertisement The University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover (TiHo) is inviting applications for a W3 Professorship in "Buiatrics" (m/f/d), whi...

    30559, Hannover (DE)

    Stiftung Tierärztliche Hochschule Hannover

  • Scientist / Postdoc (m/f/d): Proteomics

    Developing methods for low sample inputs for proteomics in high resolution mass spectrometry, with applications in neuromuscular diseases

    Dortmund, Nordrhein-Westfalen (DE)

    Leibniz-Institut für Analytische Wissenschaften – ISAS – e.V.

  • Faculty Positions @ International Campus, Zhejiang University

    Faculty Positions (tenure-track/tenured positions at all ranks, non-tenured teaching positions) and postdoctoral positions.

    Haining, Jiaxing, China

    International Campus, Zhejiang University

  • Group Leader in Molecular Infection Medicine

    We are looking for an excellent young researcher to become a Group Leader for innovative research in molecular infection medicine.

    Umeå, Sweden

    Umeå University

  • Faculty position

    Pig Genetics in Phenomics, Gene Cloning, Pig biotech breeding. Animal Biobank in Cryobiology, Biogeography, Developmental Biology, Bioinformatics.

    Beijing

    Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing

Search

Advanced search

Quick links