Why Are Americans are Losing Sleep?

Posted by Deb Williams - Editor on October 10, 2018 - 12:41am Edited 10/10 at 1:33am

Why Are Americans are Losing Sleep?

I ran across an American study recently that detailed the top anxieties that keep Americans awake at night.

GfK Custom Research polled 1,000 American adults about sleep issues on behalf of Bankrate (a leading personal finance website). While I have seen studies like this in the past, this particular research did a good job of pulling out generational differences in sleep-related stressors. For younger baby boomers (for this survey defined as ages 54-63), money is the top reason given for not sleeping well.

Within the money worries category, saving enough for retirement tops the list. This certainly lines up with our observations from working with clients in this age group. I asked a near retirement age prospective client recently if he was confident about having enough money to retire; his answer was, ”I hope so”. My guess is this type of “hope” is a major source of stress keeping him awake at night.

Gen Xers, the group under the baby boomers, listed relationships as their primary anxiety, with money worries a close second and this held true for Millennials as well.

Overall, as this chart depicts, older Millennials are the most likely to lose sleep over money worries followed closely by Gen Xers and Younger baby boomers.

The Multi-Billion Dollar Sleep Industry

With American consumers spending an estimated $50 Billion each year on products and medications to assist with sleep, there is some evidence people are sleeping a little more but perhaps not better than in years past. A large study published earlier this year by the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine reflects a slight uptick in the aggregate amount of sleep by Americans. This study included data from over 181,000 individuals for a 14-year period ending in 2016.

One very interesting observation from the Perelman Medical School Study is that the frequency of internet searches for “sleep” or “short sleep” increased 10x during the 14-year duration of the study.

Wired and Tired

These findings aside, an estimated 40 million American adults suffer from chronic sleep issues. Some have argued that the proliferation of electronic devices over the past decade or so is partly to blame. Most of these devices use cold blue light and this type of light inhibits melatonin production, a critical factor in inducing sleep. This article, Why Tech’s Favorite Colour is making us all Miserable, walks through all the problems blue light can cause.

Yet another study by Creditcards.com published in 2016 found that 68% of women surveyed lose sleep over money but only 56% of men. This seems to backstop the general observation that women tend to be more security aware than men and thus worry more.

What Matters; Because a Lot of Things Don’t

The constant grind from all forms of media clamour for our attention. Political punditry, religious rants, and financial forecasts dominate discussions each day. If you believe or support one side, then by inference you must not believe or support the other. There are many controversial issues out there and should you choose to comment on them, it may drive you away from those who like the other way. How did we get here? Is this really all that matters?

We all want both financial and physical health along with the freedom to live and love. On the financial side, we want to be able to earn money; save some of those earnings; invest some of those savings; and finally, be in a position to retire and support ourselves for the remainder of our time. But we are easily distracted.

Tune Out the Noise

What matters more is economics and how you make decisions about the scarce resources in your financial life. Ultimately, your life unfolds through a combination of things you decide not to do as well as the affirmative choices you make. These decisions matter a lot more to those that you treasure than do the often-polarizing aspects of politics. You and your family's Financial well-being beats politics…always.
Are you focusing on the things you treasure or just the things making the most noise?

Pay Attention to 3 Things

Are you dealing with money concerns on the conscious level or letting your subconscious work on these issues while you toss and turn? Pay attention to just 3 things: