Companies advised to consider staff sleeping patterns

Companies may get more out of their staff if they match their working hours to their body clocks, the Sleep Council has suggested.

Jessica Alexander, a spokesperson for the group, said some workers could benefit by taking a nap in the afternoon.

However, she added: 'I think what would be a much more [beneficial] thing for businesses to look at is finding out about their client's sleep patterns and body clocks and when they are at their best and offering flexi hours in that sense.'

She was commenting on a recent survey by Crampex which found that exhausted workers are costing the UK economy millions of pounds every year, as a quarter of Britons admit to taking days off work to catch up on sleep.

In addition, only 21% of employees get the recommended eight hours of sleep a night.