You're Losing Sleep Just by Working in a Windowless Cubicle

As workers bemoan the loss of privacy in the age of the open-plan office, a new study suggests that they might have an additional legitimate gripe: lack of windows. Researchers have found that workers deprived of sunlight get less sleep and physical activity than those who sit near windows.

Previous studies have looked at the relationship between daylight, psychological well-being, and worker productivity, but “few have addressed the impact of daylight at the workplace on sleep, quality of life, and overall health,” write the authors of a study published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine. They found that employees exposed to natural light slept 46 minutes longer—and more soundly in general—than did their peers working in windowless offices.