A year-long study of older workers by Edinburgh University has found that regular sleep disturbances, rather than lack of sleep duration, are why people feel poorly rested. The lack of sleep quality appears to be linked to workplace stresses, which also have a big impact on general wellbeing.
Study tracked 45 workers aged 50-66
Researchers tracked 45 workers aged 50 to 66 doing different jobs. Participants wore wearable sensors and filled out regular wellbeing and workplace assessments. Almost 70% of participants experienced persistent, clinically significant sleep problems, despite having no diagnosed history of sleep disorders. This was despite participants averaging between 6.5 and 8 hours of sleep a night.
Some 92% of participants met the clinical threshold for a sleep disorder at least once during the study. Researchers collected more than 5,200 days of wearable sensor data and over 1,900 self-reported wellbeing and workplace assessments. Most people scored highly in the items “feeling loved” and “dealing with problems” but lower for having levels of energy to spare and feeling relaxed.
Workplace experiences key factor
Analysis used artificial intelligence to assess the factors most strongly associated with sleep disruption. Workplace experiences were one of the most important factors. Study lead Athanasios Tsanas, professor of data science at the university, said: “Having spent years analysing data from patients with clinical sleep and mental health disorders, I was genuinely surprised by the sheer scale of sleep problems we uncovered in this otherwise undiagnosed group. Our analysis clearly demonstrates that many of these sleep and wellbeing issues are work-related, with overall wellbeing heavily dependent on sustained work-life balance.”
Co-author Dr Belinda Steffan said: “While we knew from previous evidence that sleep can influence work, and work can influence sleep, we were surprised by the extent to which our non-clinical study population were struggling with their sleep. While there are certainly some age-related sleep disruptors, such as menopause and bodily ageing, there are also many wider factors such as care-related stress, financial stress and wider non-age-specific work-related stress. Our study highlights that sleep is a workplace health and wellbeing issue. Organisations and employers must consider the impact of work-related sleep problems on their workforce, focusing on workers over 50.”
Implications for aging workforce
Researchers say the findings pose serious questions for Britain’s aging population about how to keep older adults well and working for the health of the economy. The UK has an aging population with a growing percentage of pensioners compared to people in employment. By 2050 the UK will have 17.7 million people aged over 65 and keeping them in the workforce would be good for the public purse.
The experts say employers and policymakers should place greater emphasis on sleep quality, workplace wellbeing and work-life balance. Prof Tsanas added: “By utilising longitudinal smartwatch data, we captured nuanced, previously unexplored patterns. Crucially, these findings point to actionable intervention strategies, offering a roadmap to help people build healthier, more sustainable lives as they get closer to the transition into retirement.”
