
Workers In Windowless Offices Lose Sleep - bsg75
http://www.fastcodesign.com/3033998/evidence/workers-in-windowless-offices-lose-46-minutes-of-sleep-a-night
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kansface
I wonder if the study controlled for quality of life at work; its plausible
that offices without windows are generally more miserable than those with
windows (but not because of it).

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mordocai
I agree with the commenters on the article, this sounds a lot like
correlation: not so much like causation.

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logfromblammo
There is a complex cause here, and the actual contribution of natural sunlight
to the observed effect can't be easily separated from any other possible
contributing factors.

Not the least of which being that windowless workspaces are usually given to
lower status workers, and lower status workers are more stressed in the
workplace. Given what we know of circadian cycles from the study of people
living in sealed apartments with all timekeeping cues removed, even the very
short exposure to natural light one might get during a commute is sufficient
to synchronize the internal clock. I'd be more inclined to blame the cortisol
than blame the tube lights.

But if it means more natural sunlight in the workplace, I'm prepared to
pretend the article is groundbreaking, ironclad science.

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WhitneyLand
>>lower status workers are more stressed in the workplace

Not sure if that can be generalized. In my experience the opposite can easily
be true.

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cpncrunch
It could be that the sunlight exposure during the day generates more melatonin
at night, resulting in better sleep. However as other commenters have pointed
out, it's unclear how well controlled this study was. I would prefer to see a
study where they moved workers around the office and compared the amount of
sleep to sunlight exposure for each worker.

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NickWarner775
I feel that workers would be more productive as well if they receive natural
light during the day. It would simply make them happier.

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nilkn
I've never noticed a correlation in my personal life between sleep time and
proximity to windows during the workday.

That said, I can definitely say that, for me at least, sitting next to a
window is a huge perk. I'd probably turn down a job if I couldn't at least sit
near a window, unless there was something else about the job that was
absolutely killer.

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thret
Shouldn't spending more time sleeping indicate that you are sleeping worse,
not better?

I want to sleep efficiently and minimize my sleeping time. I surely don't want
to extend it.

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alexanderss
Does anyone on HN work in a windowless office? Curious what this is like.

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jedanbik
This is anecdotal, but I've always found the contrast in average uptime
between Unix and windows machines to be quite soothing. When the office is
windowsless, that is.

