Desk-bound employees are much more likely to develop insomnia than non-sedentary workers.
A study conducted by the University of South Florida found that people whose jobs are highly sedentary, an estimated 80 percent of the modern workforce, had an almost 40 percent higher risk of insomnia symptoms, than their more active colleagues.
Psychologist Claire Smith said the decade-long study of more than 1000 employees showed sedentary work and nonstandard work times were significant threats to sleep health.
Dr Smith said those two factors had been hastened by technological changes such as increased computer work.
She said there was a 37 percent increase in insomnia symptoms among sedentary workers and a 66 percent greater risk of needing “catch-up sleep”, defined as frequent napping or sleeping in on weekends, for those who kept nontraditional work schedules.
“The way we are designing work poses serious, long-term threats to healthy sleep,” Dr Smith said.
“Healthy sleep involves more than just getting your eight hours. It’s also falling asleep easily, sleeping through the night and having a consistent sleep schedule.
“Companies should be aware of the specific sleep risks of their workforce to improve detection and intervention.”
Dr Smith said the research identified three sleep health categories among workers over the 10-year period: good sleepers, catch-up sleepers and insomnia-like sleepers.
“The study found that sedentary work is strongly linked to the insomnia sleeper category, characterized by symptoms such as difficulty falling asleep, interrupted sleep and frequent daytime tiredness.
“Meanwhile, employees with nontraditional schedules, such as working night shifts, were more likely to fall into the catch-up sleeper group.”
Dr Smith said the research suggested that moving your body during the workday and limiting after-hours work may not just help you sleep well that night but protect against ongoing sleep problems a decade later.
Read the full study: Designing work for healthy sleep: A multidimensional, latent transition approach to employee sleep health.
