(dailyRx)
Unemployment can affect your health in so many ways, including your ability to sleep, according to a recent analysis by the Economic and Social Research Council.
Looking at data from around 14,000 households in the U.K., researchers found that people who are employed or self-employed sleep much more soundly than those who are unemployed. More specifically, unemployed individuals are over 40 percent more likely than employed individuals to report problems staying asleep.
dailyRx Insight: Surprise, surprise. Your job affects how well or how poorly you sleep.
It’s not only employment that affects quality of sleep, the study shows, but also how the employed view their jobs. More than 30 percent of individuals who were least satisfied with their jobs reported poor sleep quality, compared to 18 percent of individuals who were happiest with their jobs.
According to Professor Sara Arber, of the University of Surrey, this study and others have established links between sleep, social and economic circumstances, and poor health. In light of these relationships, campaigns to promote health should take into account that higher rates of sleep problems among society’s disadvantaged could be contributing to the poorer health of that segment of society.
The study’s findings also show that work hours affected sleep. Among those who worked more than 48 hours per week, 14 percent of women and 11 percent of men slept for less than six hours each night. Employees who work for long hours also report poor sleep quality. More than 30 percent of women who work long hours reported poor sleep quality, compared to 23 percent of those who work between 31 to 48 hours per week.
Sleep is essential for any human to function healthily. Sleep deprivation is associated with a number of physical and mental health problems, injury, productivity loss, and risk of death. According to a CDC analysis, more than 11 percent of adults in the United States reported having insufficient sleep or rest for all of the 30 days prior to being asked.