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Keywords

sleep, overnight shift work, socioeconomic status, short sleep

Abstract

Overnight shift work has been clearly linked to overall poorer sleep. Additionally, socio-economic status (SES) is a strong predictor of many health outcomes, including sleep health. This study looks at the intersection of shift work and SES as they relate to sleep health.

Data on 9,210 workers aged 18 years and older were acquired from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. These workers self-identified their typical shift as overnight, evening, daytime, or rotating. Data on poverty income ratios (PIR) was also collected and was used to generate SES groups of poverty (PIR ≤ 1), below median (PIR ≥ 1 and ≤ 3), and non-poverty (PIR ≥ 3). Membership within SES groups, shift work groups, and interaction terms between shift and SES groups were regressed on the likelihood of short sleep (sleep ≤ 6 hours). Additionally, kernel density distribution plots for overnight workers and all other workers were generated for each SES group.

A significant interaction was found between overnight shift work and short sleep (p < 0.001). Those in the below median SES group had the largest likelihood of short sleep (p < 0.02). African American individuals were more likely to have short sleep (p < 0.001), while being Hispanic had no significant impact on sleep. The interaction terms between SES and shift work were not statistically significant.

Overnight shift work was found to be predictive of shorter sleep. While SES does seem to impact sleep, there appear to be no compounding effects with overnight shift work. Research looking into the quality of sleep across these groups as well as why African American individuals seem to get less sleep may be beneficial.

Document Type

Poster

Publication Date

2024-04-11

Language

English

College

Family, Home, and Social Sciences

Department

Economics

University Standing at Time of Publication

Senior

Overnight Shifts and Poverty: A Look at How Money Affects Sleep

Included in

Economics Commons

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