One of the major causes of sleeplessness is the very thing you spend many, if not most, of your waking hours thinking about—work.
A survey of 2,800 people by global staffing firm Accountemps in Menlo Park, California, found more than 40% of professionals say they can’t sleep because they’re worrying about their job.
The biggest sleep stealer is the feeling of being overwhelmed by work, according to a March 8 article on CNBC.com. Fixating on a specific problem or worrying about relationships with co-workers also makes it hard for many to sleep. And then there is the biggie—fear of being fired.
The younger you are, the more these fears leave you wide awake. Nearly 60% of people between the ages of 18 and 34 report losing sleep over work, while only 29% of those over 55 let work woes keep them up. Women have an advantage over men in this area—40% of women versus 50% of men let work keep them up.
One way to tackle these worries is to make a list of all the problems at work that are causing you stress, recommends Chris Winter, author of “The Sleep Solution.” “Most people’s fears are out of their control and somewhat irrational,” he says. “Seeing them on paper can put them into perspective.”
