After a bad night's sleep, you often think 'Then I'll go to bed early tonight'. But sleep deprivation does affect your functioning the next day, even if you sleep 16 minutes less than usual.
Everyone has a bad night sometimes. Yet you get up and hope that with a cup of strong coffee you can function optimally that day. That is a bit more difficult than you think.
Researchers at Penn State University and the University of South Florida have looked at how sleep affects your energy level and concentration the next day. Participants in the study were followed for eight days and questioned about their sleep (bedtime, how often they woke up during the night, quality of sleep, etc.) and about their functioning during the day that followed.
Read also: Poor sleep:we know what to do about it but take no action
What turned out? On the days preceding a bad night, the participants were found to have concentration problems more often than usual. If you wake up 19 minutes earlier or if you slept 16 minutes less during a night, you will have more concentration problems and less energy the next day. This especially applies to days when you have to go to work.
So make sure you get enough sleep on those days if you want to function optimally!
