Sleep patterns linked to working life expectancy

A large Finnish observational study published in Occupational and Environmental Medicine found that healthy sleep patterns in midlife are associated with longer working life expectancy. Analyzing data from the Finnish Public Sector study (70,339 employees) and the Health and Social Support study (6,071 adults), researchers found that moderate sleep disturbances were linked to nearly 5 fewer months of work after age 50, and severe disturbances to 8 fewer months. Long sleep (9+ hours) was associated with about 9 fewer months in the Finnish Public Sector group and over 30 months in the Health and Social Support group. The gap between the most advantaged (professional, educated, good sleep) and most disadvantaged (routine jobs, low education, poor sleep) reached up to 5 years. The study is observational and cannot establish causation, but suggests that promoting sleep health, especially for lower socioeconomic groups, could help extend working lives as retirement ages rise.