Objective and Subjective Socioeconomic Gradients Exist for Sleep Quality, Sleep Latency, Sleep Duration, Weekend Oversleep, and Daytime Sleepiness in Adults

Abstract

Socioeconomic gradients exist for multiple health outcomes. Lower objective socioeconomic position (SEP), whether measured by income, education, or occupation, is associated with inadequate sleep. Less is known about whether one's perceived ranking of their social status, or subjective SEP, affects sleep. This study examined whether a subjective socioeconomic gradient exists for sleep while controlling for objective SEP. Participants (N = 177; age, M = 45.3 years, SD = 6.3 years) completed the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Epworth Sleepiness Scale, MacArthur Ladder, and other self-report measures to assess sleep and objective SEP. Subjective SEP trumped objective SEP as a better predictor of sleep duration, daytime sleepiness, and weekend oversleep. These findings highlight the need to expand our framework to better understand the mechanisms underlying socioeconomic gradients and sleep.