Trouble at mill will keep you awake at night

Apr 20 2008

Workers who suspect that it is long hours, night shifts and job insecurity which makes them lose sleep could it seems be wrong.

According to new research from the U.S. it is not necessarily these factors which cause workers to lose sleep.

The researchers from the University of Michigan suggest the culprits may be upsets or bother at work, or ongoing personal conflicts with bosses or co-workers.

The researchers analysed two surveys on about 2,300 workers who were monitored for up to a decade and were chosen for their unusual work and sleep arrangements such as shift workers, medical students and those with children - half of the respondents had trouble sleeping.

The team found that the people who were upset or had conflicts at work, were 1.7 times more likely to develop sleep problems, and those with children under the age of three were 2.2 times more likely to report poor sleep quality.

The participants were monitored for factors including initial sleep quality, health and pessimism and the researchers say this is the first research of its kind.

Sociologist Sarah Burgard, says work and sleep consume up to two-thirds of every weekday for the average worker and major changes in the last 50 years have reshaped the workplace, with major implications for sleep.

Burgard says physical strain at work tends to create physical fatigue which in turn leads to restorative sleep, however psychological strain has the opposite effect, making it more difficult for people to sleep.

Burgard says for many workers, psychological stress has replaced physical hazards and she is now planning to research interventions that could protect workers from negative working conditions.

Recent research has shown that lack of sleep can have serious consequences ranging from traffic accidents to health problems, chronic disease and mortality.

The study was presented this month at the annual meeting of the Population Association of America.