Increasing sleep for the urban poor: Evidence from India [1]

Many researchers have suggested that increased sleep at night translates into improved working outcomes, such as higher productivity. But while these researchers have often focused on settings where sleep quality is high, workers in many developing countries suffer from low sleep quality due to factors such as noise, heat, and mosquitoes. In this VoxDev talk, Gautam Rao and Frank Schilbach discuss an innovative experiment that targeted increased sleep among low-income workers in Chennai, India. Fascinatingly, they find that increased sleep at night did not have a positive effect on a range of outcomes including work, decision-making, and health. But can naps at work do the trick?  

Standfirst: 
Studies in the US point to significant productivity benefits from sleeping more, but does this apply to low-income workers in developing countries?
Interviewee: 
gautamrao0 [2]
Frank.Schilbach [3]
Date Published: 
Wednesday, March 25, 2020
Tags: 
sleep [4]
productivity [5]
India [6]
Chennai [7]
Sleep quality [8]
Napping [9]
Urban poor [10]
Inefficient sleep [11]
Urban conditions [12]
Cover Image: 
Topic: 
Health & Education [13]
Related Content: 
Getting into the habit: Handwashing and child health in India [14]
Old habits die hard: Nutrition in India [15]
The effect of pollution on worker productivity: Evidence from call-centre workers in China [16]
Embed Source: 
https://embeds.audioboom.com/posts/7539447/embed/v4
Photo Credit: 
McKay Savage/flickr