Sleep Improves After Retirement

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Retiring may be the answer for tossing and turning through the night. New studies show sleep disturbances decrease significantly after retirement.

A new study shows retirees' sleep disturbances were 26 percent lower in the seven years after retirement than in the seven years beforehand. Experts say this is a result of the elimination of work-related stress. Greatest results were found in men, managers, employees with high psychological job demands and night-shift workers.

Almost 15,000 participants averaging 55 years old from the French national gas and electric company were studied through survey for seven years prior and seven years after retirement. Participants' rates of disturbed sleep dropped from 24.2 percent in the year right before retirement, to 17.8 in the year right after.

Results show although the prevalence of sleep disturbances increased with age after retirement, numbers remained significantly lower than at any time prior to retirement.

SOURCE: SLEEP, November 1, 2009

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