It’s no coincidence that the first day of Daylight Saving Time in the US also kicks off Sleep Awareness Week. By extending morning darkness and evening light, Daylight Saving Time disrupts circadian rhythms and sleep cycles, which were already far from optimal for most adults. Indeed, forwarding the clocks by one hour can make the epidemic of sleep disorders even worse, negatively affecting employee health, well-being, and productivity.
Employee sleep struggles are widespread
Calm research found that 70% of US employees are having trouble falling asleep, and 70% are having trouble staying asleep. A whopping 86% of US employees don’t feel rested enough, and 60% say feeling unrested is affecting their performance at work. Those statistics could get even bleaker with the shift to Daylight Saving Time: Approximately 2 in 3 people report difficulty adjusting to the change.
Sleep disorders take a toll on mental and physical health
Poor sleep can take a huge toll on health and well-being. It can negatively affect our mood, cause emotional distress, and impair cognitive ability and performance, for example. By contrast, getting seven to nine hours of quality sleep each night reduces stress and anxiousness, improves mood, and helps us think clearly.
Not getting enough quality sleep also leads to a wide range of physical health challenges, including high blood pressure and insulin resistance, and increases the risk of type 2 diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease. The transition to Daylight Saving Time specifically has been linked to an increase in incidence of heart attack and ischemic stroke.
Employees want help to get better sleep
The good news is employees are trying to get better sleep. Sleep was the top-searched word on Calm in 2023, for example. Forty-three percent of US employees said they wish their employers offered resources to help them address sleep, according to Calm research.
Calm resources to help employees get better sleep
To help you, your employees, and their families sleep better during the transition to Daylight Saving Time and beyond, here are a few Calm resources to try from two sleep experts: Clinical Sleep Psychologist Dr. Shelby Harris and Dr. Matthew Walker, bestselling author of Why We Sleep and professor of neuroscience and psychology at the University of California, Berkeley.
Easy Tips for Better Sleep
Dr. Walker has dedicated his life’s work to examining how sleep works and how it affects every aspect of physical and mental well-being. His goal is to help as many people as possible receive the health and wellness benefits of sleep, which include an improved ability to learn and regulate hormones, and a reduced risk of developing cancer, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s disease. He also wants to help listeners feel less stressed about sleep.
In Easy Tips for Better Sleep, a five-part series on Calm, Dr. Walker educates listeners about how sleep works and provides meaningful tips and tools to help them cultivate healthy habits for better sleep. Episodes are just 4-5 minutes in length.
Dr. Walker’s Sleep Story
In his own Calm Sleep Story, Why Do We Sleep?, Dr. Walker takes listeners on an immersive and informative journey that will help them embrace the wonders of sleep.
7-Day Employee Sleep Challenge
The first step to better sleep is finding your personal sleep language, says Dr. Harris. A “Words of Worry Sleeper,” for instance, has different sleep challenges than a “Too Hot to Handle Sleeper.” Employees can use the 7-day employee sleep challenge to find their sleep language and get tips for improving sleep quality. They’ll also get links to several relaxing Calm Sleep Stories to help them drift off to sleep faster.
Make sleep part of your employee well-being strategy
As you evaluate your employee well-being strategies, consider adding sleep support. In a randomized controlled trial, adults with insomnia symptoms who were asked to use Calm for 10 minutes per day for 8 weeks felt more physically and mentally relaxed at night before falling asleep and less fatigued and sleepy during the day, compared to those who did not receive access to Calm.
For more information on proactively supporting employee mental health and well-being, check out our pricing or connect with a Calm specialist today.
