One lifestyle change can lead to a much bigger paycheck

By TC Newman, Buzz60

As if you needed an excuse to nap! One extra hour in bed a week could increase your bottom line.

Researchers from Williams College and University of California, at San Diego used data collected from Jawbone Fitness Trackers to see what time people went to sleep across the U.S.

They noted varying sunrise and sunset times, and determined that sleep changes productivity, and therefore an employee's earning potential.

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Their results? Workers who got an extra hour of sleep per week had a wage increase of 5%, which equals out to approximately $1570 per year for the average American.

The sleep patterns had an effect on other parts of the economy, including home values. Areas that had a sunrise one hour earlier saw an increase of around $8000, or 6%, increase in real estate values

Researchers stated "sleep has a powerful impact on labor market outcomes and should be considered an integral part of a worker's utility maximisation problem." In other words, in order to be successful, bosses need to make sure their employees are getting 40 winks.

Just one extra hour per week, which could easily be broken down into 8 and a half more minutes per night! As if we needed an excuse to take a nap!