Effect of Working Late on Sleep, Strain & Recovery

We examine how often WHOOP members log working late in the app, which days they do it the most, and the impact it has on their biometric data.

Nearly 11% of all WHOOP members track whether or not they work late via our journal feature on a consistent basis. We define this as answering either “yes” or “no” to the question “Work late?” 10 times or more in the last 90 days. Females (12.1%) are slightly more likely to monitor it than males (10.3%), and it is most common among 30-39 year olds (12.7%). However, among members who do track working late, they respond “yes” with similar frequencies regardless of age or gender–meaning on average men, women, and all age groups tend to work late about the same number of days per week.  

When Do WHOOP Members Work Late & How Often?

Of those who monitor it, there is a 21.6% chance they will report working late on any given day, which translates to slightly more than one work day per week on average. Tuesday (28.4%) is the day people log working late most often, followed closely by Wednesday (27.8%), Thursday, and Monday (both 25.4%). The percentage of “yes” responses falls off dramatically on Friday (16.2%), and to no surprise gets even lower on the weekend (8.5% on Saturday and 9.6% on Sunday).

WHOOP members work late most often on Tuesdays, and significantly less on the weekends.

How Working Late Affects Sleep, Strain & Recovery

On average, when our members report working late they get 26 fewer minutes of sleep that night. In turn, their average sleep performance (the percentage of sleep they get compared to what they need) drops from 82% to 78%. Average sleep consistency actually improves from 69% to 71%, but that can be attributed to members usually working late during the week when they also tend to stick to regular bed and wake times.

When WHOOP members log working late it lowers their strain, sleep, and recovery.

Our members take on less strain on days they work late, with the average day strain dropping from 9.8 to 9.5. When they work late they may also miss out on their chance to get in an evening workout–the average number of activities logged dips from 1.8 to 1.7 as well. Additionally, average daily recovery decreases 0.5% on mornings after our members log working late. It’s a minor difference, but considering the days of the week people most often work late are also the days when recovery averages are the highest, it’s notable.  

See What Else Impacts Your WHOOP Data

The WHOOP Journal provides options for more than 100 different choices, actions, behaviors, and other variables you can track–everything from spending time outdoors during the day, to taking CBD oil at night. In-app insights and Monthly Performance Assessments offer detailed analysis of how the behaviors you choose to monitor can affect your daily sleep and recovery metrics.