Sleep Disturbances in Middle Age: Beware of Ignoring Them

Dr. Wala’a Hafiz: Many people treat sleep disorders as a temporary issue that can be lived with, especially as they age and face increasing work and life pressures. However, a recent Finnish study suggests that sleep quality may be linked to the length of an individual’s working life. According to The Guardian, researchers found that severe sleep disorders may be associated with a loss of approximately eight to nine months of expected working years after the age of 50.

The study, conducted by researchers from the University of Turku in Finland and published in the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine, examined the relationship between sleep disorders, sleep duration, and what is known as “working life expectancy”—the number of years a person is expected to remain in the workforce between the ages of 50 and 68.

**Sleep Disorders and Work**

The researchers analyzed data from more than 76,000 individuals from two large Finnish studies. The first included 70,339 public sector employees, while the second comprised 6,071 working-age individuals. Participants reported their sleep habits, and researchers then compared this information with their labor market participation data.

The results showed that individuals who did not suffer from sleep disorders at age 50 had an expected working duration of approximately 13.4 years, compared to about 13 years for those with moderate disorders, and 12.8 years for those with severe disorders. Consequently, moderate sleep disorders were associated with a loss of nearly five months of expected working years, while severe disorders were linked to a loss of approximately eight months, compared to those without sleep issues.

**The Issue Is Not Just Hours**

The study did not focus solely on sleep disorders but also examined the number of hours participants slept. Researchers categorized sleep duration into three groups: less than seven hours per night, 7 to 8.5 hours, and nine hours or more. Interestingly, the expected working life expectancy was similar for those sleeping less than seven hours and those sleeping between 7 and 8.5 hours, reaching approximately 13.2 years after age 50.

In contrast, sleeping nine hours or more was associated with a shorter expected working duration of about 12.4 years—a difference of nearly eight to nine months compared to average sleep duration in the main study group. However, researchers cautioned against interpreting this result as meaning that long sleep duration itself leads to a shortened professional life. They explained that long sleep duration may be an indicator of other health problems that affect a person’s ability to continue working.

**What Is Disrupted Sleep?**

The term “sleep disorders” did not refer merely to a lack of hours, but to a range of symptoms indicating poor sleep quality. These include difficulty falling asleep, frequent awakenings with an inability to return to sleep, waking up very early, and feeling that sleep was not restful or restorative. The study classified disorders as mild, moderate, or severe based on the frequency of these symptoms during the weeks preceding the assessment.

**Occupational Health**

The results also revealed differences related to occupation type and gender. The longest expected working life expectancy—approaching 14 years after age 50—was observed among women in professional jobs who did not suffer from sleep disorders. The shortest duration appeared among men in routine jobs who experienced severe sleep disorders, reaching approximately 12.5 years.

Researchers believe these differences are not linked to sleep alone but may intersect with social, economic, health, and occupational factors.

**A Health Issue**

Researchers argue that these findings reinforce the importance of addressing sleep disorders as a health issue worthy of attention in midlife, rather than merely a problem to be endured until retirement. Among interventions that may help individuals suffering from insomnia are Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I), alongside awareness programs on healthy sleep practices and interventions provided by occupational health services in the workplace.

However, the study does not prove that poor sleep directly causes the loss of months from one’s professional life, as it is an observational study. Researchers also noted that they could not control for all factors that might influence the results, such as certain physical and mental illnesses, health behaviors, working conditions, and shift work.

**An Important Message**

The research conveys an important message: “Sleep quality in midlife is not a luxury; paying attention to it is one of the factors that help individuals maintain their health and ability to work as they age.”