Study links long sleep and sleep problems to shorter careers

A University of Turku study reported by Yle links healthy sleep habits in middle age with longer working lives. Sleeping for more than nine hours a night and experiencing sleep difficulties were associated with fewer expected years in employment.

The study examined how sleep duration and sleep problems relate to expected working life, meaning the number of years a person is expected to remain in employment.

Researchers followed Finns aged at least 50 until the age of 68. At age 50, the average expected working life was 13 years and two months.

Moderate sleep difficulties were associated with five fewer months of working life, while severe difficulties were associated with a reduction of almost eight months.

Among municipal sector employees who slept at least nine hours a night, expected working life was about nine months shorter than among those who slept less than nine hours. In another sample that more broadly represented the Finnish population, the difference between the groups was as much as two and a half years.

International recommendations say that the optimal amount of sleep for adults under 65 is seven to nine hours a night.

The findings highlight the importance of supporting sleep health and treating sleep difficulties in middle age, particularly among people in lower socioeconomic positions, said Saana Myllyntausta, the project’s principal investigator and a docent in sleep and work psychology, in a university release.

The follow up study included more than 70,000 Finns. Its results do not show directly that long sleep or experiencing sleep difficulties causes a shorter working life, because the effects of conditions including various illnesses and mental health could not be ruled out.

Good sleep health is nevertheless known to be associated with better work performance, information processing ability and health.