Benefits of encouraging healthy sleep habits among staff

Sleep specialists Land of Beds’ November 2025 research revealed that 56% of UK adults said tiredness was affecting their ability to concentrate and perform at work. This figure may come as a surprise to employers, opening up opportunities for them to address the impact of poor sleep on staff and encourage better habits.  

Importance of healthy sleep habits 

Healthy sleep habits are consistent behaviours and routines that support good-quality, regular sleep. These can include going to bed and waking up at similar times each day, limiting caffeine after midday and creating a wind-down period in the evening to switch off. Other habits include staying hydrated and avoiding screen time before bed.

Even small, regular improvements in sleep timing and routine can lead to gains in focus, energy and mood at work, explains Amy Cheseldine, accredited sleep consultant practitioner at Wellness Cloud and member of the Association of Professional Sleep Consultants and The British Sleep Society. 

“In a working context, these habits directly influence cognitive performance, creativity, and how people interact with colleagues,” she says. ”Poor sleep is linked to reduced concentration and lower resilience to stress. Over time, this shows up as lower productivity, increased presenteeism, and reduced overall wellbeing at work.”

Good sleep is key for physical health, mental resilience and emotional regulation, all of which are essential for people to function well at work each day. 

Poor sleep affects decision making and energy levels, while also increasing irritability and reducing the ability to cope with pressure, says Dr Amy Pressland, head of talent and performance at Benenden Health.

“Over time, this can contribute to higher sickness absence and burnout,” she explains. ”In contrast, when people are well-rested, they are more engaged, safer at work and better able to sustain performance over the long-term. Sleep is often overlooked in workplace health strategies. Employers [that] recognise sleep as a core people issue send a clear signal that wellbeing and performance go hand in hand.”  

If employees have a sustained period of poor sleep, this could increase the risk of accidents or mistakes. This can, in turn, impact employer liability insurance claims and potentially increase premiums. 

It can also have a knock-on effect on other insurances if it turns into a mental or physical health condition, says Emma Capper, UK wellbeing leader at Howden Employee Benefits.

“Private [medical] insurance premiums could potentially go up and impact income protection and sickness absence benefits if staff are off work for a long time,” she says. 

Encouraging healthy sleep habits

Employers can play a role to play in creating environments that support healthy sleep, even though it happens outside of working hours. They can start by modelling healthy boundaries regarding deadlines and always-on expectations, as well as being clear that long hours do not equal high performance. 

Senior leadership should be seen taking breaks, having rest and recovery time, finishing work at their set times, and making sure workloads are being supported. This should be regularly reviewed to ensure no one is overwhelmed and everyone has more of a positive work-life balance.

When senior teams model healthy boundaries around work and rest, it gives employees implicit permission to do the same, explains Cheseldine. 

“Employers could introduce core hours in the middle of the day and allow workers to be flexible in the mornings and evenings depending on their natural chronotype, such as if they work more productively earlier or later in the day,” she says. ”Sleep quality is influenced by how stimulated or relaxed minds are in the hours before bed, so discouraging out-of-hours communication can make a difference.”  

Education and awareness on what good sleep habits look like are also important. Organisations should signpost to resources and support they already have in place so staff know where to turn if they need help. 

“Training managers to notice signs of fatigue, of stress and burnout is key, as well as encouraging them to have conversations with individuals, build trust and model healthy behaviours,” says Capper. “Employers should also look at diet, nutrition and exercise because they all work together for employees to thrive in the workplace.” 

Pressland adds that organisations can normalise conversations about sleep as part of wider wellbeing efforts to help staff understand how stress, health conditions or life stages may be affecting their rest. 

“On World Sleep Day, for example, they can share practical information and resources, such as sleep teas and lavender drops, to help employees improve their sleep,” she says. 

Benefits to help

Benefits that take a supportive, preventative approach can make a difference in encouraging better sleep and boosting employee productivity. Targeted sleep coaching can lead to improvements in quality of life and workplace performance. 

“Access to mental health support, stress management tools and guidance on sleep hygiene help staff understand and improve their sleep habits before issues become more serious,” says Pressland. “When benefits are easy to access and framed as part of everyday wellbeing, they are more likely to be used and have a meaningful impact.”

Employee assistance programmes can offer sleep-related resources and support, along with stress management tools. Employers could pay for a mindfulness app subscription, which is often included within some group risk or healthcare insurances.  

“Providing talks or webinars on sleep can be effective when combined with access to personalised support for those struggling with persistent sleep issues,” says Cheseldine. ”Sleep tracking or app-based support can be an entry point.” 

Encouraging healthy sleep habits within workforces can not only improve all aspects of wellbeing, but also boost productivity and resilience.