The Sleep-Burnout Connection- What You Need to Know to Protect Your Health & Productivity

I pulled an all-nighter once when I was in high school. I was studying for a test. I don’t remember the test subject or even the class, I don’t remember much other than I thought saying I pulled an all-nighter to study for the test would make me sound cool to my peers.

I also thought my teacher would admire my efforts and my dedication. I thought for sure, just by chugging diet soda and munching on some candy (the caffeine and sugar to stay awake, obviously), I would score as I had never scored before!! And I did. I barely passed. I was exhausted the next day and barely stayed awake through the test. The caffeine and sugar are high, long gone.

Of course now, as a board-certified health & wellness coach who focuses on burnout prevention/recovery, I know what happened.

What I needed to score was some quality time studying the back of my eyelids not going blind re-reading pages in a textbook.

How many times do you put off sleep to “get it all done”? Or even to unwind with shows or social media because you’ve “earned it”?

You may not be pulling Twizzler-fueled all-nighters to cram for a history final but you probably are missing critical hours of restorative sleep that could help you “get it all done” more efficiently than you are trying to do now. And will also help you prevent burnout, and protect your mental, physical, and emotional health.

Here’s what you need to know about sleep and burnout.

The Sleep-Burnout Connection

Poor sleep is one of the biggest contributors to burnout (Grossi et al., 2021). Getting enough quality sleep (meaning you not only get the 7-9 hours recommended for adults but that those hours are with minimal disturbances) is associated with higher well-being and a decreased risk of burnout (Grossi et al., 2021).

Conversely, the less quality sleep you get, the more likely you are to burn out and have poor well-being.

What’s worse, the relationship is what we nerdy scholars call “bi-directional”. This means that it works both ways. Not getting enough quality sleep is a risk for burnout. And burnout decreases the amount and quality of your sleep.

This means that you can get caught in a vicious cycle. Vicious because not only does burnout itself affect your health, but poor sleep can make it harder to eat healthy and exercise, which can affect your weight and increase your risk for chronic disease.

For example, a 2018 study by Metlaine et al. compared 54 individuals with burnout to 86 healthy control participants all from the same company in France. They compared professional rank, sleep, job strain, and a number of other measures including health biomarkers.

The folks with burnout reported more job strain, higher anxiety levels, more sleep disorders related to insomnia, HbA1C levels (measures average blood sugar levels to diagnose prediabetes and diabetes), higher total cholesterol, and a few other negatives like lower vitamin D levels. They were also less satisfied with their jobs.

Another study (Chattu et al., 2019) reported that sleep problems precede symptoms of burnout and also low back pain.

The point is, sleep matters for your physical, mental, and emotional health, and for your performance in work and non-work settings.

So basically if you want to ace the test (or the job interview or the presentation or being present with loved ones) don’t pull an all-nighter.

What Does Sleep Deprivation Really Mean?

Essentially, it’s not getting enough quality sleep. This means, some people experience sleep deprivation because they aren’t getting enough hours of sleep that restore them. If you’re getting less than the 7-9 hours of recommended sleep then you are likely sleep deprived.

You might also be sleep deprived if you still wake up tired even though you were in bed for 7-9 hours. Sleep disturbances might have prevented you from getting a fully restful slumber.

This could happen for a few days or be more chronic. The Cleveland Clinic has a great explainer you can reference here.

But How Does it Affect Burnout Exactly?

When you don’t get enough sleep, your body doesn’t experience the rest and repair it needs. This can lead to fatigue, trouble concentrating, impaired judgment, increased risk of accidents, poor fitness performance, reduced reaction times, moodiness, and more. Too little sleep also increases inflammatory molecules in the body and can interfere with the body’s stress response.

There again is that vicious cycle.

Burnout is characterized by feelings of fatigue, cynicism, and detachment from our work. With too little quality sleep, you’re just digging yourself into a deeper hole. The fatigue connection is obvious. The other two are related because of the changes in mental and emotional health that can occur, including moodiness, when we don’t get enough sleep.

How to Improve Sleep and Reduce the Risk of Burnout

Here are a few basics of healthy sleep.

• Keep a consistent sleep schedule every day (yes, the same schedule for weekdays and weekends).
• Creating a relaxing bedtime routine.
• Keeping your bedroom dark, quiet, and cool.
• Avoid caffeine within 8-10 hours of bedtime, minimum.
• Avoid alcohol at least 4 hours before bedtime.
• Avoid large meals and beverages before bedtime. A light snack is fine.
• Avoid exercise at least 2-3 hours before bedtime.
• See your doctor if you suspect you have a sleep disorder like insomnia or sleep apnea.

If you need help creating a sleep routine or implementing other healthy lifestyle routines to reduce your risk of burnout, grab a free strategy session here .

References

Chattu, V. K., Manzar, M. D., Kumary, S., Burman, D., Spence, D. W., & Pandi-Perumal, S. R. (2019). The Global Problem of Insufficient Sleep and Its Serious Public Health Implications. Healthcare, 7(1). https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare7010001

Grossi, N.R., Batinic, B. & Moharitsch, S. Sleep and health: examining the relation of sleep to burnout and well-being using a consumer fitness tracker. Health Technol. 11, 1247–1257 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12553-021-00603-0

Metlaine, A., Sauvet, F., Gomez-Merino, D., Boucher, T., Elbaz, M., Delafosse, J. Y., Leger, D., & Chennaoui, M. (2017). Sleep and biological parameters in professional burnout: A psychophysiological characterization. PLoS ONE, 13(1). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0190607