High-paying jobs, businesses, and high-profit companies need more responsible and active people to meet all the requirements which give an assumption that these people experience poor sleep at night. However, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that rich people sleep longer than poor and their sleep quality is better than others.
The new report initially posted by CNN explains this unique association between sleep regulation and earnings. The results are obtained from surveys conducted for the US population. This data was obtained between 2011 and 2014 and asked questions about sleep hours, quality, and sleeping habits. The results of this survey are now publicly available.
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The survey questioned nearly 140,000 adults US citizens who helped to complete the questionnaire. About 55% of these people were living near or below the poverty line shown by their earnings. These people were able to get the medically prescribed 7-8 hours of sleep.
On the other side, those who were at high paying positions experienced more sleeping hours. Their ‘richness’ was estimated by comparison of their earnings above the poverty line. Reportedly these people were 400% above the poverty parameters. Nearly 66.6% of these people reported enjoying relaxing sleep for the whole night.
The poverty line with reference to the US population is measured by earnings and family size comparison. For example, for a single person it is around $11,670 per year and for a 4-person family, it could be around $23,850.
There was no further research on why rich people sleep longer than the poor people but some evidence suggests that it is linked with the working hours. Most rich people get help in their childcare and house help to proceed with daily activities. Also, they prefer living in homes that are more comfortable and easy to rest; for example, the temperature of their bedroom is set perfectly, their mattresses are super easy, bed linens are always fresh, etc.
But there was no research in what are the outcomes of having these sleeping differences between these two classes of people.
Usually, uninterrupted sleep and poor quality of sleep could vastly affect work performance, relationships, and health of a person. Having a public health crisis like the current coronavirus pandemic also affects sleeping patterns majorly.
This effect could be the same on the rich as well as poor people.
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The previous studies indicate that a shortage of sleep and sleep deprivation can affect many health problems such as obesity, anxiety, diabetes, and hypertension. Combing all these risks together, these simple-looking problems could end up at something destructive i.
e. cancer, heart attack, etc. This way, it affects the quality of life and increases the risk of early death.
This survey report highlights the significance of investigating this matter in detail. If rich people sleep longer than the poor, there could be more than just one factor i.e. working hours. It is necessary to conduct similar studies on a larger population to get a better picture of this situation. Based on results obtained from a larger population, the real reason behind sleeping more despite having more demanding work positions could be explained.