Going to work sleepy: As bad as showing up drunk?

In America's culture of "sleep machismo," we're working more, but sleeping less — and new research shows drowsiness is as risky as drunkenness

Sleepy at work
(Image credit: Corbis)

Many companies encourage workers to put in long hours or even pull all-nighters — but they might as well promote showing up to work inebriated, according to sleep researchers. "We would never say, 'This person is a great worker! He's drunk all the time!'" says Harvard sleep expert Charles Czeisler, who's found that 24 hours without sleep or a week of 5-hour sleep nights is equivalent to a blood alcohol level of 0.1 percent. Here's a brief guide to the costs of sleep deprivation:

Why is it bad to work without sleep?

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