Most of us would assume that people with highly demanding jobs or long work hours would have worse quality sleep than those who had low-stress positions. However new research from the USF College of Behavioral and Community Sciences finds that the relationship between sleep and job demands is more complex.
Their results show that having too few job demands can be just as disruptive to sleep. People who got the best sleep were those with moderately demanding jobs and those who had more control over their working conditions. In the simplest terms, the more control they enjoy and moderate responsibility they took on, the better their chances of sleeping well.
“The previous knowledge that demanding work degrades sleep may be overly simplistic,” said Soomi Lee, an assistant professor in the USF College of Behavioral and Community Sciences School of Aging Studies who served as a senior author on the paper. “The findings move beyond the previous narrative that job demands should be minimized as much as possible to protect workers’ health.”
Studying sleep and job demands
This study was led by Monica Nelson, a doctoral candidate in the School of Aging Studies. The paper, “Goldilocks at Work: Just the right amount of job demands may be needed for your sleep health,” appears in the November issue of the journal Sleep Health. The study was funded by the National Institute on Aging and based on multi-site and interdisciplinary collaborations, including Tammy D. Allen, a distinguished professor in the USF College of Arts and Sciences Department of Psychology.
The researchers acknowledge that while their findings might initially seem counterintuitive; they suggest that both too few and too many job demands may be related to work disengagement or excessive stress–both of which can disrupt sleep. Those with too few job responsibilities may also feel unmotivated or uninterested in work. This can lead to feelings of anxiety or restlessness in life in general.
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In their study, the researchers note that poor sleep has been linked to numerous health problems. Things like cardiovascular disease, dementia and early death. Therefore, identifying and addressing factors that contribute to poor sleep – including job-related demands – can be important to improving overall health and warding off issues down the road.
“Past research suggests you need moderate exposure to stress to perform better,” Nelson said. “We were motivated by this concept and examined whether sleep health would have a sweet spot with moderate exposure to job demands.”
Research details
The researchers analyzed data from a previous study of nearly 3,000 adults. With an average age of 48 years old, split nearly evenly between men and women. About half of participants possessed at least a four-year college degree.
The study participants were asked about five aspects of their jobs: intensity, role conflict, work overload, time pressure and interruptions. They also responded to questions about five aspects of their sleep patterns: regularity, satisfaction/quality, daytime alertness, efficiency and duration.
“Based on these findings, it will be important to examine whether and how changes over time in job demands and control are associated with changes in sleep health,” Lee said.