Job Stress = Poor Sleep

Maybe one of the best ways to improve your sleep is to change jobs?  Or, the best way to do well at work is to sleep well?

A new study conducted in Sweden suggests that there may be a direct connection between job strain and disturbed sleep, implying that interventions to treat sleep problems may improve work satisfaction.

Results show that higher work demands predicted subsequent sleep disturbances. Similarly, sleep disturbances predicted a higher perception of stress, higher work demands, a lower degree of control, and less social support at work two years later. No relationship was found between disturbed sleep and physical work environment, shift work schedules or working hours.

“The results are important because they show that work demands influence stress negatively, and this link has rarely been investigated in longitudinal studies,” said lead author and principal investigator Torbjörn Akerstedt, a professor in the department of clinical neuroscience at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden. “Sleep problems are abundant in the industrialized world, and we need to know where mitigation may be most effective.”

According to the authors, their findings align with previous research showing that disturbed sleep increases stress response and emotional reactivity. The results imply that promoting better sleep may improve working life by reducing perceived job stress and minimizing negative attitudes toward work.

Study results are published in the July issue of the journal Sleep.

Source: News Release