Poor sleep could cut nearly nine months from working life after 50
- Josephine Tan
- Topics: Europe, Health and Wellness, Home Page - News, News
Severe sleep disturbances could shorten working life expectancy by almost nine months after the age of 50, according to research from the University of Turku in Finland, highlighting the potential impact of sleep health on workforce participation and longer working careers.
The study found that people with moderate sleep disturbances could expect to work nearly five fewer months between the ages of 50 and 68 compared with those reporting no sleep problems. For those with severe sleep disturbances, the reduction was almost eight months, regardless of gender or occupation.
Researchers analysed data from the Finnish Public Sector (FPS) and Health and Social Support (HeSSup) studies, examining participants’ sleep habits after age 50. Sleep disturbances included difficulty falling or staying asleep, waking too early and experiencing non-restorative sleep during the four weeks before the survey.
The researchers also examined nightly sleep duration, categorising it as short (less than seven hours), mid-range (between seven and 8.5 hours), or long (nine hours or more).
Interestingly, the study found little difference in working life expectancy between people with short and mid-range sleep durations. Both groups had an estimated working life expectancy of around 13 years and two months after age 50.
Long sleep duration, however, was associated with a shorter working life expectancy of approximately 12 years and five months.
Gender and occupation also influenced outcomes. Professional women with no sleep disturbances had the longest working life expectancy, almost 14 years after age 50. The shortest, at nearly 12.5 years, was observed among men in routine occupations who experienced severe sleep disturbances.
Dr Saana Myllyntausta, lead investigator from the University of Turku’s department of psychology and speech-language pathology, said the lack of difference between short and mid-range sleep duration was unexpected.
“Short sleep duration has been previously linked in some studies too, for example, earlier retirement,” she said. Long sleep, meanwhile, had been associated with poorer health outcomes, which could help explain its link to shorter working careers.
For employers, the findings point to sleep health as a potential workforce sustainability issue, particularly as organisations seek to retain older employees and extend careers.
Myllyntausta said employers and occupational health providers should consider measures to support sleep, particularly among employees from lower socio-economic backgrounds.
“Interventions aimed at treating insomnia provided by occupational health services or workplace interventions, such as educational or health promotion interventions for sleep, have been found in previous studies to be effective ways to support sleep among working-age adults,” she said.
The researchers said promoting sleep health and supporting sleep during midlife could help increase workforce participation as employees age. Potential measures include cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia through occupational health services, as well as workplace education and health-promotion programmes focused on sleep, reported The Guardian.
However, the researchers cautioned that the study could not account for several other factors that may influence working life expectancy, including physical and mental health, underlying health conditions, health behaviours and working conditions such as shift work.
The findings nevertheless suggest that addressing sleep problems could form part of broader workplace strategies aimed at supporting employee health, employability and longer working lives.
