Missing out on just 16 minutes of sleep during the week could wreck the next day at work, new study finds

Staying up for an extra 16 minutes to watch one more episode in a series or to scroll through social media could wreck the following day at work, a new study has found.

Researchers from the University of South Florida found shortening a normal sleep routine during the work-week greatly interferes with job performance.

The study, published in Sleep Health, revealed minor sleep loss would mean workers were more likely to have poor judgement and fall off-task the next day.

Lead author Soomi Lee, assistant professor in the School of Ageing Studies, and her colleagues surveyed 130 healthy employees working in IT and who have at least one school-aged child.

Participants reported that when they slept 16 minutes less than usual and had worse quality sleep, they experienced more cognitive issues the next day.

This then raised their stress levels, especially regarding issues related to work-life balance, resulting in them going to bed earlier and waking up earlier due to fatigue.

"These cyclical associations reflect that employees' sleep is vulnerable to daily cognitive stress and also a contributor to cognitively stressful experiences," said Dr Lee.

"Good sleepers may be better performers at work due to greater ability to stay focused an on-task with fewer errors and interpersonal conflicts."

The researchers found the effects of less sleep is not as apparent when the person has the next day off work.