Need more sleep? Your job could be to blame

 

Feeling as though you regularly don’t get enough sleep? It could be because of your job.

 

According to the annual National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) conducted by the Centers for Disease Control, people with jobs that carry a fair amount of stress don’t do as well in the sleeping department. Alternatively, those who have low-stress jobs or those that are limited by factors such as daylight-only hours tend to get more shut-eye.

 

The survey looked at 20 professions and ranked those that are the most sleep-deprived and the most well-rested, based on the average hours of sleep that respondents said they got in a 24-hour period. Keeping in mind the average adult needs seven to nine hours of sleep nightly, according to the National Sleep Foundation, even the professions deemed well-rested in the survey don’t get much beyond the seven-hour minimum.

 

According to the survey (the full list can be seen here), the top five most sleep-deprived jobs and their corresponding average length of sleep are:

 

1. Home health aides - 6 hours, 57 minutes
2. Lawyers - 7 hours
3. Police officers - 7 hours, 1 minute
4. Physicians/paramedics - 7 hours, 2 minutes
5. Economists - 7 hours, 3 minutes

 

In contrast, the top five most well-rested jobs and their corresponding average length of sleep are:

 

1. Forest/logging workers - 7 hours, 20 minutes
2. Hairstylists - 7 hours, 16 minutes
3. Sales representatives - 7 hours, 15 minutes
4. Bartenders - 7 hours, 14 minutes
5. Construction workers - 7 hours, 13 minutes

 

If your job is on the sleep-deprived list, it’s still possible to get a good night’s sleep.

 

Practice good sleeping habits, including staying on a regular sleep schedule and creating an evening bedtime ritual to help your body get ready to sleep. You don’t—or shouldn't—have to do anything as drastic as changing your profession.