Napping Productivity
Description
Night work is critical for Australia's economic prosperity, supporting essential sectors such as healthcare, emergency response, and transportation. But performance, productivity, and safety are all lower on the night shift because humans have evolved to sleep at night. We know that naps on night shift can enhance performance, but many workplaces choose not to use them because they take workers off the job and safety can be impacted by post-nap sleep inertia. But research to date has not asked whether nap length can be optimised so that the costs of downtime are outweighed by the benefits of whole shift productivity. This project will fill this gap.
Impact
The potential benefits of this research include a reduction in night work-related productivity losses, estimated at $17.9 billion annually, and a decrease in workplace accidents, which cost over $61.8 billion each year. Outcomes will include new knowledge and evidence-based guidance on the impacts of on-shift napping for productivity and safety. Findings will support the development of tools for strategic nap scheduling, boosting operational productivity in industries that rely on night work.
Partners
Associate Professor Grace Vincent - Project Lead
Grace Vincent is an Associate Professor at CQUniversity’s Appleton Institute. Her mission is to help Australia’s workers get better sleep by collaborating with researchers and industry to create healthier and safer workplaces. This mission is supported by a vibrant and cohesive research team she continues to grow, with shared values of scientific integrity, compassion, mentoring, and collaboration.
Her research program focuses on three key areas: improving sleep and health in workplace settings, understanding how physical activity and diet influence sleep, and developing behavioural interventions to promote better sleep health.
Since she was awarded her PhD from Deakin University in 2016, she has published over 100 publications and secured over $4 million in research funding - including an ARC-DECRA, 2xARC-DP's and an MRFF. She has received more than 25 research awards. Grace is a South Australian Tall Poppy, winner of the Rob Pierce Grant in Aid and Nick Antic Career Development Award, winner of the National 5-Minute Research Pitch Competition and has received the CQUniversity Vice Chancellor’s Award for both Outstanding Early Career and Mid-Career Research. She has supervised programs of research for 12 PhD students, 25 Honours students and 13 summer scholars.
SDG Goals
At CQUniversity we are committed to embedding sustainable practice in our operations, interactions and relationships, underpinned by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Sustainability is one of our strategic pillars within our Strategic Plan 2019-2023.
This project aligns with the following SDG Goals:
- 3 – Good Health and Wellbeing
