The workday used to end when a person left the building. For many people it now ends when a laptop lid closes, and the lid does not always settle the matter. NIOSH has published three bulletins that speak to the hours after work, and together they make a short ritual.
The ritual
- Draw the line. The work-from-home bulletin notes that when working at home “the lines between work and home can get blurred.” Its tips include setting boundaries with time and with physical space, keeping a routine, and detaching at the end of the day. It also recommends a dedicated workspace, so there is somewhere to leave work behind.
- Move early. The sleep bulletin suggests finishing exercise at least three hours before bed.
- Keep dinner light. Its advice is to avoid heavy or spicy meals three hours before the regular bedtime, to limit liquids several hours before sleep, and to avoid caffeine, chocolate and nicotine for five or more hours before sleep is planned.
- Dim down. The same page suggests starting a relaxing routine 1.5 hours before bedtime, with dim lighting, no computer or phone screens, and no upsetting news stories or action movies.
- Mind the drive. The fatigue bulletin brings up drowsy driving. It cites NHTSA estimates that drowsy driving was a factor in 91,000 police-reported motor vehicle crashes in 2017, and says it is broadly agreed that this understates the problem.
Why a ritual at all
The fatigue bulletin defines fatigue as the body’s response to sleep loss or to prolonged physical or mental exertion, and says it can only be reduced with sufficient rest. It adds that fatigue at work does not stay at the workplace and that, ideally, non-work time allows for recovery from work. A fixed order of small steps gives the evening a start line that does not depend on how the day went.
