The face of an exhausted shiftworker is not unfamiliar to most: the half-opened eyes of a 7-11 employee, who drawls, “Good morning,” as they slowly move their sleepy arm to scan items. For many working class individuals, managing to secure 7-8 hours of sleep nightly is a constant struggle. Sleep deprivation and insomnia have a pervasive impact on those of lower socioeconomic status, resulting in numerous mental/physiological health risks and poor work performance. Sleep deprivation could be a potential factor that accounts for the near impossibility of escaping poverty.
To understand the impact lack of sleep has on the working class, it is first important to understand the risks associated. Insufficient sleep is correlated with a wide variety of health and safety risks such as premature death, vehicle crashes, and various chronic diseases, including heart disease, diabetes, and cancer (Caruso, 2015). Moreover, sleep deprivation can result in impairments of cognition, attention, and memory (Buckhalt, 2011). These effects not only impact the psychologically distressed shiftworker, but can also cause worker error that negatively influences company products and services.
Researchers have previously studied the relationship between socioeconomic status and insomnia. Gellis, Lichstein, Durrence, Taylor, Scarinci, and Bush (2005) found that “individuals of lower individual and household education were significantly more likely to experience insomnia even after researchers accounted for ethnicity, gender, and age.” Moreover, Gellis et al. found that individuals with fewer years of education faced greater impairment because of their insomnia, which suggest the never-ending cycle that is formed by lower socioeconomic class and sleep deprivation. Between 2004 and 2007, the National Health Interview Survey reported that almost 29% of US working women reported sleeping 6 or few hours per day, an increase from the 24% of men and women who reported short sleep duration from 1985 to 1990 (Caruso, 2015). Night shiftworkers face even more difficulties acquiring adequate sleep, as 47% of women who usually work at night reported short sleep duration. Risks for short sleep duration include “being non-Hispanic black, attaining a low education level, working long hours, and having low financial resources” (Buckhalt, 2011).
The effects of sleep deprivation could be partly responsible for the socioeconomic achievement gap. Buckhalt (2011) studied the effects of sleep deprivation in children of lower socioeconomic status on school performance. Children from low socio-economic status families are “at greater risk for problems in school, including underachievement, behavioral maladjustment, and early dropout” (Buckhalt, 2011). The poor academic achievement that is associated with lower socioeconomic status could be a result of the decreased cognitive functioning of sleep deprivation. This suggests that the socioeconomic gap could be maintained and widen partly as a result of insomnia: lower socioeconomic status results in disrupted sleep cycles and deprivation, which negatively impact school and work performance.
Employers must acknowledge the damaging effects of sleep deprivation and implement new policies to solve this issue. Most importantly, shiftworkers must be paid living wages in order to reduce the strong impact of financial stress on sleep schedules and ensure that acquiring a second job is not necessary to survive. Employers must also limit lengthy shifts that often disturb circadian rhythms. Moreover, health initiatives should stress the importance of sleep to lower socioeconomic individuals. Curtailing the effects of sleep deprivation could result in increased work performance and a decrease of the socioeconomic achievement gap.
References
Buckhalt, J. A. (2011). Insufficient Sleep and the Socioeconomic Status Achievement Gap. Child Development Perspectives, 5(1), 59-65. doi:10.1111/j.1750-8606.2010.00151.x
Caruso, C. C. (2015). Reducing Risks to Women Linked to Shift Work, Long Work Hours, and Related Workplace Sleep and Fatigue Issues. Journal Of Women’s Health (15409996), 24(10), 789-794. doi:10.1089/jwh.2015.5481
Gellis, L. A., Lichstein, K. L., Durrence, H. H., Taylor, D. J., Scarinci, I. C., & Bush, A. J. (2005). Socioeconomic Status and Insomnia. Journal Of Abnormal Psychology, 114(1), 111-118. doi:10.1037/0021-843x.114.1.111
Unruly Bodies 
This is such a thoughtful and well cited post. I think this post also touches on the important cycle that is created when folks don’t get enough sleep and therefore can’t function as well. I definitely agree that a shift in how workers are treated is urgently necessary.
As mentioned in the previous comment, this is a very well-researched topic. In that manner, it would be important to see where else this takes. I’d like to know how the risks for short sleep interact with each other, and why “being non-hispanic black” is a risk.
I would also like to see how we can transform this idea of “low income workers are at risk for sleep deprivation” into action. For me, I think it would be good start with “protest companies that engage in exploitation of low-income labor through not buying their products.”