Sleep Disorders and Medicine

Biography

Biography: Kavitha Palaniappan

Abstract

Sleep is the most vital episode of human life as psychological and somatic restorative processes are said to happen during sleep. Several studies have recognized the causes for poor sleep as stress, worry, apprehension, everyday hassles, negative or positive experiences and work-related rumination. Likewise, the consequences of sleep deprivation have also been well established. Physiologically, sleep deprivation is said to cause hypometabolism of brain tissues and is also said to increase the risks of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. However, it is also important to understand the two-way association between poor sleep and work-related stress which not only aff ects the physiology but also aff ects day time functioning, schematic thinking and causes diffi culties in concentrating and thereby increasing fatigue. Th us, poor sleep and work-related stress create a self-reinforcing vicious circle that slowly deteriorates a person’s well-being. Th is vicious circle can be interrupted by two management techniques: Transformational leadership and Work organization. Transformational leadership has oft en been used to improve productivity and health outcomes such as general well-being and job satisfaction. However, it can also be used to improve the sleeping patterns of individuals by lending them a high level of support and suitable mechanisms for the same need to be conceptualized. On the other hand, organization of tasks according to the nature, physical and mental demands of the job, time of day that the job can be performed, circadian cycles and homeostatic processes of the individuals who are going to perform those jobs would reduce work-related stress and also enable individuals to get a better sleep. Such work patterns need to be designed for every kind of work environment.