Almost one in six workers fall say they are so tired at work they fall asleep at their desks at least once a week, a study has revealed, The Daily Mail reported.

The survey, conducted by Virgin Pulse - an employee wellness company in Massachusetts - questioned 1,140 employees across the USA.

The results showed 76 per cent of workers felt tired almost ever day of the week, while 30 per cent of employees are unhappy or very unhappy with the quality or quantity of their sleep.

Some 72 per cent said their partner kept them awake, while 69 per cent blamed unwanted noise.

The room being too light was a problem for 53 per cent of people, while 40 per cent said their mattress was too uncomfortable to allow them to sleep well.

Dr Jennifer Turgiss, a co-author of the study and director of the Virgin Pulse Institute, said, ‘Employees who don’t sleep well have poorer concentration, poorer decision making abilities, are significantly less able to cope with stressful situations, and are more likely to make unhealthy choices.

‘In attempts to encourage employees to live healthier, often employers – with the help of their health insurers or wellness vendors –focus on simply improving diet and exercise, but this approach ignores one critically important habit: sleep.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has called lack of sleep ‘an epidemic,’ linking it to car crashes, industrial disasters and other occupational errors.