The rich get richer, and they also get better sleep.
A study by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that as salaries increase, so do hours of sleep per night. According to the study, the further away someone was from the poverty line, the more they slept.
Of the nearly 140,000 US adults surveyed between 2011 and 2014, only 55 percent of people living below the poverty threshold reported getting a full seven to eight hours of rest each night. Meanwhile, 66.6 percent of adults making 400 percent above the poverty threshold reported regularly getting a full night’s sleep.
The study didn’t explore why this may be, but Dr. Neil Kline, a sleep physician at the American Sleep Association, shared a few possible reasons.
“People with more resources are able to afford homes that are in quieter locations — more space, less people-density and better sound-proofing,” Kline said, per CNN. “People with more resources can also afford more healthcare when it relates to sleep disorders.” Not to mention, it stands to reason that the promise of financial security itself probably helps one sleep better at night.
As one might expect, the fact that people with less money sleep less is bad for a number of reasons. “Sleep affects many aspects of well-being and quality of life for people of all ages,” said Lindsey Black, an epidemiologist at the CDC. Poor sleep has been associated with a variety of health conditions, including increased risk of diabetes and heart disease and mental health issues such as depression — all issues that people with less money are less financially equipped to handle.
Anyway, congrats to rich people on the great night’s sleep.
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