We’d always assumed that sleep quality diminished as you got older, but it looks like that might not be the case after all…
In fact, a new study has revealed that people sleep better and for longer after they reach retirement age.
It seems as if giving up work leads to a reduction in sleep difficulties, researchers from the University of Turku in Finland have said.
The team concluded this after analysing data from over 5,000 Finnish pensioners, who retired between the years 2000 and 2011.
The volunteers answered a questionnaire about their sleep quality both before and after retirement, with surveys taking place every four years.
And it seems that sleep quality improves after we give up work, and continues to get better the longer we’ve been retired.
Not only were participants less likely to complain about non-restorative sleep (where you still feel tired in the morning) and waking up too early, but they also seemed to sleep for an average of 20 minutes longer, too.
The benefits were particularly prevalent for people who had experienced stress, ill-health and job strain during their working years.
Weirdly enough, there was no change in the volunteers’ reported difficulties falling asleep and maintaining sleep before and after retirement.
‘Transition to statutory retirement is associated with a decrease in sleep difficulties, especially waking up too early in the morning and non-restorative sleep,’ the team concluded in the Sleep Society Research journal.
So, there you have it, something to look forward to for those of us still working!
