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Forget milky drinks, hot water bottles or curling up with a good book. The real secret to a good night's sleep may be where you sit at work. Not only can the stress of work leave employees tossing and turning, but sitting too far from a window can knock 46 minutes off a normal night’s sleep. Researchers found that workers forced to toil in windowless rooms had a poorer quality of life and more erratic sleep patterns than those with access to daylight. The findings, published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, suggest the working environment may be crucial to setting the body's own internal clock. Researchers say better designed offices could boost the physical and mental health of workers. “We suggest that architectural design of office environments should place more emphasis on sufficient daylight exposure for workers in order to promote health and well-being,” said Dr Ivy Cheung of the Department of Neurology, Northwestern University, Chicago. “Office workers with more light exposure at the work place also tended to have better sleep quality, more physical activity and a better quality of life. “ A sunny day is equivalent to about 10,000 lux or higher of light. However indoor office lighting typically provides only about 300 to 500 lux. One in three Britons suffers from poor sleep, with stress, computers and taking work home often blamed for the lack of quality slumber. | 
