Finnish study links sleep quality after age 50 to working life expectancy

A large-scale Finnish study involving over 76,000 participants suggests that sleep quality after the age of 50 is significantly linked to professional longevity. Researchers, led by Saana Myllyntausta of the University of Turku, analyzed data from the Finnish Public Sector Study and the Health and Social Support study to track how sleep patterns affect the duration of a person's career.

Findings indicate that individuals without sleep disorders can expect to work an average of 13 years and 5 months starting from age 50. However, those with moderate sleep disturbances (occurring two to four nights a week) see a reduction of approximately five months, while those with severe disturbances (five or more nights a week) lose about eight months of working life.

Interestingly, the study also found that sleeping excessively is not beneficial for career longevity. Participants sleeping more than nine hours per night had shorter working lives compared to those sleeping between seven and eight and a half hours. In one cohort, this difference was nine months, while in another, it exceeded 30 months. Socioeconomic factors and job types also influenced these results, with significant gaps observed between different educational and professional groups.