The economics of sleepEconomists term “luxury good” as one for which demand increases faster than the rare of increase in income. An “inferior good” is one where a typical consumer’s demand actually decreases with rising income. (For a “normal good” demand and income are proportional.) Economics is the study of resource allocation under the condition of scarcity, and for many people, the scare resource is time. Either consciously or unconsciously, people make decisions about how to allocate their time, including time in bed and time working. A familiar chart on the walls of university students says “Sleep, work, play: pick two”. There’s no question that sleep disorders are a drag on the economy when it comes to lost productivity, work time, medical expenses, and bad moods. A study of people from 12 countries found that for each one-hour increase in “market work” (as opposed to, say, unpaid housework), sleep time was reduced by 10 minutes. The number of hours the average person sleeps has declined over the
past century, and while much of this is due to electrification of
homes (with lights and televisions, etc), it is reasonable to think
that part of it is due to the expansion of the market economy and
specialization of labor. Differences between demographic groups
A study in the American Journal of Epidemiology in 2006 showed that wealthier people on average have lower sleep latency than poor people. They were more efficient sleepers, spending a greater portion of their time in bed asleep. Of course, these are averages and there is quite a bit of variation within groups. Sleep efficiency also differed between men and women and between black and white people
(The above table from the University of Chicago website.) Low socioeconomic status is associated with poor health, and a recent study showed that pediatric sleep apnea is more common in poor neighborhood. University of Chicago researchers also found that higher income people tend to sleep more than lower income people. Another study by Case Western Reserve University showed that low socioeconomic status is associated with “long sleep” (excessive sleep) and early mortality. (Separately it is known there is a connection between long sleep and early mortality.) Nobody knows the exact connection. A report by the National Bureau of Economic Research stated that economists found that higher employment (and lower unemployment) is correlated with an increase in heart disease. "A single percentage point reduction in unemployment increases predicted deaths from heart attack by about 1.3 percent." Sleep deprivation was listed as a possible cause. There was an unusual study out of John F. Kennedy University which looked at the sleep and dream patterns of Americans to see if there was a difference between liberals and conservatives. The author concluded that conservatives slept more soundly and had fewer remembered dreams than liberals. There were only 234 people studied and this sounds a little difficult to believe. "Dawn comes soon enough for the working class" - Exene Cervanka and John Doe
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Sleep Disorders
journal abstractsCircadian gene helps brain predict mealtime
Onset of sleep problems and alcohol use in teens
Behvioral therpay for Insomnia?
Sleep and appetite
newsMars experiment could help insomniacs Lose sleep: lose new brain cells
"O Sleep, rest of all things, mildest of the gods, balm of the soul..." (Iris to Hypnos. Ovid, Metamorphoses) |