What are the common barriers and challenges to implementing sleep hygiene initiatives in your organization?

It's time to get the basics of wellbeing right (including sleep). From experience, there are three key pillars to ensuring the right foundations are in place: ? An Equitable Workplace: The rate at which the UK national gender pay gap is closing is no faster than it was in 2017. Demonstrating the shift in representation and an action plan to move towards an equitable future is key. ? Culture, communications, innovation and creativity are often heralded as a USP, however they can only come from a place where psychological safety is embedded. ? Creating an environment to inspire and reflect different moments in the working day is a key motivator for employees. When the team is supported it makes wellbeing initiatives easier to communicate.

1) Competition for resources and time with other wellness programs. 2) Overcoming skepticism, lack of awareness, and behavioral change challenges. 3) Difficulty tracking sleep improvement and ROI on initiatives.

The culture of boasting how little sleep one got is thankfully a thing of the past. These days, we all know that sleep is the foundation behind healthy living. In my fitness company, I've hosted 'Sleep Competitions' with my clients, where they log how many hours sleep they got over an 8 week period while attending my fitness boot camp. The person who slept the most got their membership fees refunded. It was a super popular incentive (and great marketing!)

> A strong company culture can be a double-edged sword. If your organization prioritizes hustle and long hours, sleep hygiene initiatives might be seen as counter-productive. Encouraging employees to prioritize sleep can feel at odds with the established norms. > Even with good programs, convincing employees to prioritize sleep over other demands requires buy-in. They might be juggling work demands, childcare, or personal struggles that make getting enough sleep difficult. > Some employees simply might not be aware of the importance of good sleep hygiene or how certain habits can disrupt their sleep. Educational programs can be a key first step to overcoming this hurdle.

'Sleep Hygiene' is a misleading term in many ways. It seems to suggest that people need to simply focus on their night-time habits to have improved energy, mood, and cognitive functioning during the day. But that's only half the picture. Because Sleep Hygiene is also a function of the day - what a busy professional eats, the amount and quality of light exposure they get, the timing of stimulants like caffeine or nicotine, and the detrimental impact of sleep disrupting substances (like alcohol) in the late afternoon or evening.. And so, raising awareness of Sleep Hygiene being a 24hr pursuit is one of the key barriers we first need to overcome.

Lead by example, leave on time and have a life outside of work to model the healthy behaviour you want to see in your team. Where managers are working long shifts impacting sleep, that behaviour becomes the norm and gets modelled.

With most of the organisation now having non traditional working time, it becomes more important to have resources in place for implementing better sleep hygiene habits among employees, such as regular sleep assessment to create self awareness. Using AI technology to stop over use of devices and increase frequency of breaks in between production hours. Having resting or calm rooms dedicated to employees for taking rest and power naps as per their natural circadian rhythm, this will help to mitigate the negative effects of fatigue

If people do not feel you're there for their best interest at heart they will not join this type of program. It starts from the top down in the organization. There needs to be a feeling that if they use Eap's or wellness programs it's not looked as "less than" or a reason for a "PIP", but encouraged throughout the company.

All to often, employees feel the need to catch up on work they have not been able to accomplish during the workday. This then leads to a situation where sleep is impacted physically (e.g., via excessive blue light exposure), cognitively (unable to 'switch off'), and emotionally (increased stress levels due to excessive demand). One potential solution could be for managers/SLTs to pivot from traditional KPIs and monitor output achieved during designated working hours. This could, in turn, indicate if the demands being placed on the employee are too high. Acting on this information with additional resource provision could then help reduce the burden, allowing more positive wellbeing behaviours to be adopted in the long run.

Promoting Sleep Hygiene and a culture of Rest can feel like the direct opposite of traditional organisational culture. It's a bold move for an organisation to say: - Rest Culture > Hustle Culture - Flexible Working Hours > Cookie-cutter contracts - Delayed Start Times > Early Work Meetings - Walking Meetings (natural light) > Indoor Boardroom - Good Sleep Habits > Late Night Emails Yes, it's counter-cultural. But it's metaphorically and physically...so refreshing.

This can be incredibly nuanced where every individual inside the organization has a different starting point. After providing the education for each person to understand where they can use the most improvement and why, the key is to have them hyper-focus on just one or two aspects of sleep hygiene for a period of time. Simply make those become habits first and build on it from there. It can be incredibly overwhelming and stressful to try and make all the adjustments at once. For example, for the first 30 days, maybe it's no caffeine after 2pm and you turn the temperature down every night after dinner. That's it. Once you've proven to maintain that consistently, then perhaps you add no screen time after 9pm and are in bed by 10pm. Etc.

In childhood it was ease to drift into a peaceful slumber. However, as we navigate the complexities of adulthood, the ability to fall asleep becomes a more challenging endeavor, influenced by the weight of our thoughts and emotions. Addressing the guilt associated with prioritizing regular sleep is essential. Some individuals perceive sleep as a luxury, fearing they might miss out on life if they dedicate sufficient time to rest. It's crucial to dispel this misconception or stigma and recognize that adequate sleep is an integral component and fundamental pillar in fulfilling and thriving life. Emotions, too, play a significant role in the quest for restful sleep. Unresolved feelings or stress can contribute to sleep disturbances.

The best Sleep Hygiene initiatives come when organisations understand professionals as individuals with biological and circumstantial differences. 1. ?? A person's SLEEP NEED? Typically between 7-9hrs but for some a bit more/less. Think of it like shoe size. 2. ? A Person's CHRONOTYPE? A natural 'early bird' or 'night owl'? Operating outside of this 'body-clock' is operating sub-optimally. 3. ?/?? DISRUPTORS Things like caffeine, alcohol or lighting can have varying disruptive effects on a individual's Sleep. 4. ?? MEDICAL CONDITIONS: Individuals may suffer with conditions that are both diagnosed or undiagnosed. Sleep Hygiene initiatives may impact this - e.g. temperature changes may be intolerable during menopause. Keep listening.

Variations in individual sleep needs and habits can make it challenging to design one-size-fits-all sleep hygiene programs. Employees have different circadian rhythms, lifestyle demands, and health conditions that affect their sleep patterns. Addressing this barrier requires offering flexible and customizable options within sleep hygiene initiatives. For instance, allowing flexible work hours as part of the program can accommodate different sleep types, enabling employees to work at their most productive times.

Individual differences in sleep needs and preferences can complicate the implementation of sleep hygiene initiatives. Factors such as age, lifestyle, health conditions, and personal responsibilities influence how employees respond to sleep hygiene recommendations. Tailoring programs to accommodate these differences is crucial. Offering a variety of resources and allowing for flexible implementation can help address the diverse needs of the workforce, making the initiatives more effective and inclusive.

We've found there are a lot of factors within these areas. Work-From-Home Challenges: For remote workers, the blending of work and personal spaces can disrupt sleep patterns. The absence of a structured office environment may lead to irregular sleep schedules. Workspace Ergonomics: Poor ergonomic setups at home or in the office can lead to physical discomfort, contributing to sleep disturbances. Technology Exposure: Excessive use of screens, especially before bedtime, is a significant barrier. The blue light from screens can interfere with the body's natural sleep-wake cycle.

In an increasingly work-from-home (or hybrid) model of working, there are both dangers and opportunities for better sleep. Dangers: ? Duplicating the Bedroom as an Office-Space. ? Working in a room with inadequate natural light/windows. ? Not taking regular breaks due to wanting to 'power-through' ? Excessive caffeine consumption to 'power-through' Guidance: ? Ensure working from a room other than the bedroom ? Ensure windows and ventilation in room. ? Schedule breaks, ideally outside. This provides time away from screens and provides natural light exposure. ? Scheduled meal-times. ? Limit last caffeine intake to no later than 2pm ideally.

The physical work environment can also pose significant challenges to implementing sleep initiatives. Issues such as poor lighting, noise, uncomfortable temperatures, and inadequate workspace setups can interfere with employees' ability to maintain alertness and productivity during the day, which in turn can affect sleep quality at night. To address these issues, conduct regular assessments of the workplace environment and make necessary adjustments. This might include investing in better lighting solutions, noise reduction systems, comfortable and ergonomic office furniture, and maintaining a pleasant and healthy office temperature.

Environmental factors such as noise, light, and temperature can also pose challenges to sleep hygiene. Many employees may have home environments that are not conducive to good sleep, affecting their ability to benefit from workplace initiatives. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends creating a sleep-friendly environment by controlling noise and light and maintaining a comfortable room temperature. Employers can support this by providing resources such as blackout curtains, white noise machines, or even guidance on setting up a sleep-friendly space at home.

Environmental factors, such as workplace lighting, noise levels, and work schedules, can hinder the success of sleep hygiene initiatives. For example, shift work or high-stress environments can disrupt employees' natural sleep patterns. Addressing these environmental challenges involves creating a workplace that supports healthy sleep habits. This might include optimizing lighting, reducing noise pollution, and offering flexible work schedules to help employees achieve better sleep.

A lot of employees may not realize motivation has anything to sleep. Lack of Awareness: Employees might not be fully aware of the importance of sleep hygiene and its impact on their overall well-being and productivity. Prioritizing Work Over Sleep: In a high-performance culture, employees might prioritize work deadlines over sleep, leading to a cycle of sleep deprivation. Resistance to Change: Habitual late-night routines or the use of technology before bed can be hard habits to break. Employees might resist changing these ingrained behaviors.

Fundamentally people are motivated to achieve outcomes that: 1. matter to them 2. that seem real. It can sometimes be hard with Sleep Hygiene for people to make a clear connection between Sleep and the incredibly beneficial outcomes of better mood, increased energy levels, clearer thinking, and increased productivity. Here are some suggestions to bridge the gap: - Providing sleep education on the real benefits of sleep. - Giving employees a group 'sleep challenge' to see how they feel with better sleep - e.g. 30 days to prioritise Sleep and Rest -> this small test of change can serve as subsequent proof of the benefits. It also increases chances of participation using 'positive social pressure'.

In our culture, sleep is often the first thing to go when you have a lot on your plate. So in order to empower employees to feel like they can actually implement a sleep hygiene challenge, it's critical to address workload. Some considerations are: - Address if the workload pressure is real or perceived. Ask: Can this work be done later? Am I clear on the details of what is expected? - Delegate work to spread the workload. Ask: What is on my plate that I could delegate, even if it involved teaching a more junior team member how to do it? - Communicate that getting better sleep will enable them to be more effective at the tasks on their plate. Skipping sleep to work more doesn't end well, especially in the long run

Alcohol and business entertaining typically go hand in hand. So changing that culture is a challenge to change to respect sleep - and that will take some years. While the benefits of video meetings have been highlighted and evidenced throughout the CV-19 pandemic, meetings across timezones CAN and should be scheduled to respect each party’s circadian rhythm. Just my two-penneth!

Generating and maintaining motivation among employees to follow through with sleep hygiene practices is another common challenge. Without a clear understanding of the benefits or visible improvements to their health and work performance, employees might lack the commitment needed to change their habits. Incorporating incentives into the program, such as rewards for consistent participation or achievements in meeting sleep goals, can help increase motivation. Regular success stories and testimonials from participating employees can also boost engagement by showing real-life benefits.

Limited Resources: Organizations with limited resources may struggle to implement comprehensive sleep hygiene initiatives, such as wellness programs or educational campaigns. Remote Work Challenges: With the rise of remote work, maintaining boundaries between work and personal life becomes challenging, potentially impacting sleep routines. Leadership Example: If leaders do not prioritize or model healthy sleep habits, it can hinder the effectiveness of sleep hygiene initiatives.

Other considerations, like budget constraints, can limit the resources available for implementing comprehensive sleep hygiene programs. Evaluating the effectiveness of sleep hygiene initiatives is crucial, and this should include mechanisms for feedback and continuous improvement. Regularly soliciting employee feedback and conducting evaluations of the program's impact can help refine the approach and ensure it meets the evolving needs of the workforce. Lastly, partnering with sleep experts or wellness professionals can provide additional insights and credibility to the program, enhancing its acceptance and success within the organization.

Busy schedules, with having so many people not always going into an office they may just forget about the habits. Having manual reminders sent to the employees through an app or email can work wonders.

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Consider the importance of integrating sleep hygiene initiatives with broader wellness programs to enhance their effectiveness. Provide ongoing support and resources, such as access to sleep experts, regular workshops, and digital tools for tracking sleep habits. Additionally, create a feedback loop where employees can share their experiences and suggest improvements. This iterative approach ensures the initiatives remain relevant and responsive to employee needs, fostering a sustainable culture of well-being and improved sleep hygiene.