Changes in self-reported and accelerometer-based sleep during the transition to retirement

This study aimed at examining how different characteristics of sleep change during transition from full-time work to statutory retirement. Changes in sleep were examined among public sector employees in Finland using data from two longitudinal cohorts, the Finnish Public Sector (FPS) study and the Finnish Retirement and Aging (FIREA) study. Sleep was measured with self-reports and wrist-worn accelerometers up to 6 years before and 6 years after retirement. Changes in sleep duration, different types of sleep difficulties, daytime tiredness, and sleep loss due to worry, as well as in the timing of sleep, time spent in bed, and sleep efficiency were examined. Furthermore, information on different pre-retirement sociodemographic, work, and health factors was obtained and changes in sleep were examined in relation to these different pre-retirement characteristics. During the transition to retirement, sleep duration increased by approximately 22 minutes (ranging from 19 minutes to 25 minutes depending on the measurement interval around retirement and the sleep measure that was used). The prevalence of sleep difficulties decreased during the retirement transition and particularly the prevalence estimates of waking up too early in the morning and nonrestorative sleep were observed to decrease. Decreases were observed also in the prevalence of daytime tiredness and sleep loss due to worry. Compared to working days prior to retirement, both in bed and out bed times were delayed, and thus, retirement was associated with a later sleep-wake rhythm. Factors associated with the sleep changes during the retirement transition were identified, including short sleep duration, job strain, and psychological distress prior to retirement. In conclusion, statutory retirement is associated with longer sleep duration and less sleep difficulties for many retirees retiring from public sector work. As there seems to be more inadequate sleep, sleep difficulties, and daytime tiredness during the final working years than after retirement, this study also highlights the importance of promoting sleep health of older employees.Tämän tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli selvittää, kuinka unen eri osa-alueet muuttuvat siirryttäessä kokoaikaisesta työstä ikäperusteiselle eläkkeelle. Unen muutoksia tutkittiin suomalaisilla kunta-alan työntekijöillä käyttäen Kunta10- ja Sairaalahenkilöstön hyvinvointitutkimuksen sekä Aktiivisena eläkkeelle -tutkimuksen pitkittäisaineistoja. Unta mitattiin sekä kyselyillä että ranteessa pidettävällä liikemittarilla. Tutkimuksessa selvitettiin muutoksia itsearvioidussa ja liikemittariin pohjautuvassa unen kestossa, erityyppisissä univaikeuksissa, päiväaikaisessa väsyneisyydessä ja huolien vuoksi valvomisessa sekä myös unen ajoituksessa, sängyssä vietetyssä ajassa ja unen tehokkuudessa. Tutkimuksessa tarkasteltiin myös, miten eläköitymistä edeltävät sosiodemografiset ja työhön sekä terveyteen liittyvät tekijät ovat yhteydessä unessa havaittuihin muutoksiin. Eläkkeelle siirryttäessä unen kesto lisääntyi keskimäärin noin 22 minuutilla (vaihdellen 19 minuutista 25 minuuttiin riippuen mittausaikavälistä eläköitymisen ympärillä sekä käytetystä mittausmenetelmästä). Univaikeuksien esiintyvyys väheni eläköitymisen jälkeen ja erityisesti vähenivät liian aikaiset aamuheräämiset ja virkistämätön uni. Myös huolien vuoksi valvomisen ja päiväaikaisen väsyneisyyden havaittiin vähenevän. Eläköitymisen myötä uni-valverytmi siirtyi myöhäisemmäksi, sillä sekä nukkumaanmeno- että heräämisajat olivat eläköitymisen jälkeen myöhempiä kuin työpäivinä ennen eläköitymistä. Eläköitymistä edeltävistä tekijöistä lyhyt unen kesto, työn kuormittavuus ja heikko itsearvioitu terveys ennen eläköitymistä olivat yhteydessä unessa tapahtuviin muutoksiin eläköidyttäessä. Tämän tutkimuksen tulokset osoittavat, että ikäperusteinen eläköityminen tarkoittaa monille muutosta kohti pidempää yöunta ja univaikeuksien vähentymistä. Tutkimus myös korostaa ikääntyneiden työntekijöiden riittävän ja hyvänlaatuisen unen tukemisen tärkeyttä osoittaessaan, että riittämätön uni, univaikeudet ja päiväaikainen väsymys ovat yleisempiä viimeisien työvuosien aikana kuin eläkkeellä

Psychological Distress During the Retirement Transition and the Role of Psychosocial Working Conditions and Social Living Environment

Objectives: Mental health is determined by social, biological, and cultural factors and is sensitive to life transitions. We examine how psychosocial working conditions, social living environment, and cumulative risk factors are associated with mental health changes during the retirement transition. Method: We use data from the Finnish Retirement and Aging study on public sector employees (n = 3,338) retiring between 2014 and 2019 in Finland. Psychological distress was measured with the General Health Questionnaire annually before and after retirement and psychosocial working conditions, social living environment, and accumulation of risk factors at the study wave prior to retirement. Results: Psychological distress decreased during the retirement transition, but the magnitude of the change was dependent on the contexts individuals retire from. Psychological distress was higher among those from poorer psychosocial working conditions (high job demands, low decision authority, job strain), poorer social living environment (low neighborhood social cohesion, small social network), and more cumulative risk factors (work/social/both). During the retirement transition, greatest reductions in psychological distress were observed among those with poorer conditions (work: absolute and relative changes, p [Group x Time interactions] < .05; social living environment and cumulative risk factors: absolute changes, p [Group x Time interactions] < .05). Discussion: Psychosocial work-related stressors lead to quick recovery during the retirement transition but the social and cumulative stressors have longer-term prevailing effects on psychological distress. More studies are urged incorporating exposures across multiple levels or contexts to clarify the determinants of mental health during the retirement transition and more generally at older ages.Peer reviewe

Changes in life satisfaction during the transition to retirement : findings from the FIREA cohort study

Peer reviewe

Temporal changes in self-reported sleep quality, sleep duration and sleep medication use in relation to temporal changes in quality of life and work ability over a 1-year period among Finnish municipal employees

In this prospective follow-up study, we aimed to examine whether changes in self-reported sleep quality, sleep duration, and sleep medication use are temporally associated with changes in quality of life and work ability in municipal employees when several confounding factors are considered. The study was conducted in Finland among 637 municipal employees (88% women, mean [SD] age 48 [10] years) in 2014 and 2015. Information about the participants was collected by self-administered questionnaire and from medical history. Predicting variables were changes in self-reported sleep quality, sleep duration, and sleep medication use. Outcome variables were changes in the EUROHIS-QOL eight-item index and the Work Ability Score. Improved or unchanged sleep quality compared to worse sleep quality were associated with a preferable change in quality of life (both p < 0.001). No change in sleep duration compared to a decrease and no change in sleep medication use compared to increased use were also associated with favourable changes in quality of life. Increased use of sleep medication was associated with a decline in work ability, and the change in Work Ability Score also differed significantly between improved and worsened sleep quality. In this study, changes in sleep were widely associated with changes in quality of life and work ability of municipal employees. Programmes aiming for better sleep health would probably be beneficial both from a health-oriented and an economical point of view. Special attention should be paid to employees with a need for sleep medication

Internal consistency and factor structure of Jenkins Sleep Scale : cross-sectional cohort study among 80 000 adults

Objectives To assess the internal consistency and construct validity of the Finnish translation of the Jenkins Sleep Scale (JSS) in a large healthy working-age population with diverse work characteristics. Design Survey-based cross-sectional cohort study. Setting Survey conducted by an institute of occupational health. Participants Employees of 10 towns and 6 hospital districts. Primary and secondary outcome measures The internal consistency defined by a Cronbach's alpha. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses to evaluate the construct structure of the JSS. Results Of 81 136 respondents, 14 890 (18%) were men and 66 246 (82%) were women. Their average age was 52.1 (13.2) years. Of the respondents, 41 823 (52%) were sleeping 7 or less hours per night. The mean JSS total score was 6.4 (4.8) points. The JSS demonstrated high internal consistency with an alpha of 0.80 (lower 95% confidence limit 0.80). Exploratory factor analysis supported a one-factor solution with eigenvalue of 1.94. Confirmatory factor analysis showed that all four items were positively correlated with a single common factor explaining 44%-61% of common factor's variance. Conclusions The Finnish translation of JSS was found to be a unidimensional scale with good internal consistency. As such, the scale may be recommended as a practicable questionnaire when studying sleep difficulties in a healthy working-age population.Peer reviewe

Why do men extend their employment beyond pensionable age more often than women? a cohort study

Men extend their employment beyond pensionable age more often than women, but the factors that contribute to this sex difference are unknown. This study aimed to examine sex differences in extending employment and the contribution of sociodemographic, work- and health-related factors to these differences. Participants of this prospective cohort study were 4,263 public sector employees from Finland who reached their individual pensionable date between 2014 and 2019 and responded to a survey on work- and non-work-related issues before that date. Extended employment was defined as continuing working for over six months beyond the individual pensionable date. We used mediation analysis to examine the contribution of explanatory factors to the association between sex and extended employment. Of the participants, 29% extended employment beyond the pensionable date. Men had a 1.29-fold (95% confidence interval 1.11-1.49) higher probability of extending employment compared with women. Men had a higher prevalence of factors that increase the likelihood of extended employment than women (such as spouse working full-time, no part-time retirement, low job strain, high work time control, and lack of pain) and this mediated the association of sex with extended employment by up to 83%. In conclusion, men were more likely to extend their employment beyond pensionable age than women. This difference was largely explained by men being more likely to have a full-time working spouse, low job strain, high work time control, no pain, and not being on part-time retirement

Factors associated with quality of life and work ability among Finnish municipal employees: a cross-sectional study

Objectives Quality of life (QoL) and work ability are elementary parts in defining the well-being of an employed person. The aim of this study was to demonstrate factors associated with QoL and self-reported work ability among public sector employees, while taking into account several confounding factors, including sleep quality, occupational stress and psychological symptoms. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted in Finland among 710 employees (89% women, mean age 49 (SD=10) years) from 10 municipal work units in 2015. Information about the participants was collected by physical examination, self-administered questionnaire and from medical history. QoL was assessed with the EUROHIS-Quality of Life 8-item index and work ability with the Work Ability Score (WAS). Results The EUROHIS-QOL mean score among all participants was 4.07 (95% CI 4.03 to 4.11). QoL was positively associated with good sleep quality, cohabiting, university-level education and lower body mass index (BMI), and negatively associated with occupational stress, depression and/or anxiety and disease burden. Work ability was reported good or excellent by 80% of the participants and the WAS mean score among all participants was 8.31 (95% CI 8.21 to 8.41). Work ability was positively associated with good sleep quality, younger age, lower BMI and university-level education, and negatively associated with occupational stress and disease burden. Conclusions Occupational stress and self-reported sleep quality were strongly associated with both QoL and work ability among Finnish public sector employees. These findings highlight the need for screening and handling of work stress and sleep problems in occupational and primary healthcare.</div

Changes in the 24-h movement behaviors during the transition to retirement : compositional data analysis

Background Transition to retirement is shown to affect sleep, sedentary time and physical activity, but no previous studies have examined how retirement changes the distribution of time spent daily in these movement behaviors. The aim of this study was to examine longitudinally how the composition of 24-h movement behaviors changes during the transition to retirement using compositional data analysis (CoDA). Methods We included 551 retiring public sector workers (mean age 63.2 years, standard deviation 1.1) from the Finnish Retirement and Aging study. The study participants wore a wrist-worn ActiGraph accelerometer for one week 24 h per day before and after retirement, with one year between the measurements. The daily proportions to time spent sleeping, in sedentary behavior (SED), light physical activity (LPA) and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) were estimated using the GGIR package. Changes in the daily proportions of movement behaviors were examined using Compositional Data Analysis version of linear mixed models. Results In general, the proportion of time spent in active behaviors decreased relative to time spent in passive behaviors after retirement (p < .001). This change depended on occupation (occupation*time interaction p < .001). After retirement manual workers increased the proportions of both sleep and SED in relation to active behaviors, whereas non-manual workers increased the proportion of sleep in relation to active behaviors and SED. The proportion of MVPA decreased relatively more than the proportion of LPA (p = 0.01), independently of gender and occupation. Conclusions Retirement induced a decrease in the proportion of time spent in active behaviors, especially time spent in MVPA. Future studies are needed to find ways to maintain or increase daily physical activity levels at the cost of sedentary behaviors among retirees.Peer reviewe

Changes in the 24-h movement behaviors during the transition to retirement : compositional data analysis

Background Transition to retirement is shown to affect sleep, sedentary time and physical activity, but no previous studies have examined how retirement changes the distribution of time spent daily in these movement behaviors. The aim of this study was to examine longitudinally how the composition of 24-h movement behaviors changes during the transition to retirement using compositional data analysis (CoDA). Methods We included 551 retiring public sector workers (mean age 63.2 years, standard deviation 1.1) from the Finnish Retirement and Aging study. The study participants wore a wrist-worn ActiGraph accelerometer for one week 24 h per day before and after retirement, with one year between the measurements. The daily proportions to time spent sleeping, in sedentary behavior (SED), light physical activity (LPA) and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) were estimated using the GGIR package. Changes in the daily proportions of movement behaviors were examined using Compositional Data Analysis version of linear mixed models. Results In general, the proportion of time spent in active behaviors decreased relative to time spent in passive behaviors after retirement (p < .001). This change depended on occupation (occupation*time interaction p < .001). After retirement manual workers increased the proportions of both sleep and SED in relation to active behaviors, whereas non-manual workers increased the proportion of sleep in relation to active behaviors and SED. The proportion of MVPA decreased relatively more than the proportion of LPA (p = 0.01), independently of gender and occupation. Conclusions Retirement induced a decrease in the proportion of time spent in active behaviors, especially time spent in MVPA. Future studies are needed to find ways to maintain or increase daily physical activity levels at the cost of sedentary behaviors among retirees.Peer reviewe