Why your work stress can stop your partner from sleeping

Telegraph

21-02-2025

Workplace bullying impacts your partner's sleep as well as your own, with bad energy passing across the bed sheets, a new study has shown.
Many people experience stress at work, and feeling belittled or abused by colleagues can wreak havoc on sleep patterns.
But a new study from the University of East Anglia (UEA) shows that sleep problems are contagious, with partners suffering just as badly.
'It is very interesting that insomnia is contagious,' said Prof Ana Sanz-Vergel, from UEA's Norwich Business School.
'Partners appear to influence each other's sleep severity and sleep impact, which is not surprising since one individual's awakening could cause the other to wake up as well.
'If that's the case, then both of them can feel that lack of sleep interferes with their daily life.'
The team conducted two studies. In the first, 147 employees were followed over five days, and in the second, 139 couples were followed for two months.
In both the participants had to report on their exposure to workplace bullying, how often they ruminated angrily about their workplace, and whether they suffered from insomnia and poor sleep.
The studies showed bullying indirectly affected sleep, mainly because people were dwelling on their bad experiences repeatedly, which prevented them from nodding off and caused fitful sleeping and waking up too early.
'Couple-oriented prevention'
The research also found it impacted partners, who also experienced insomnia and poor sleep.
'Our results show that the effects of workplace bullying go beyond the individual and the work setting, impacting the partner's sleep as well,' added Prof Sanz Vergel.
'Couple-oriented prevention programmes in the context of the workplace are needed.
'This could help provide coping strategies to both members of the couple, which would in turn reduce rumination levels and insomnia.'
Sleep is crucial to health, but more than a third of Britons sleep for less than six hours a night, according to the Sleep Council, while up to 20 per cent of people suffer from extreme daytime sleepiness.
In 2023, a study by Harvard University found that regular restful sleep may extend life by nearly five years for men, and more than two years for women.
The study also showed that eight per cent of deaths from any cause may be attributed to poor sleep patterns.
Increased health risks
Scientists have known for some time that not getting enough sleep increases the risk of a string of health complaints such as high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity and diabetes.
Just one night of poor sleep is enough to trigger a spike in a brain chemical linked to Alzheimer's disease, while people with sleep apnoea, a condition in which people repeatedly stop breathing at night, are at risk for developing mild cognitive impairment an average of 10 years earlier than people without the sleep disorder.
In the new research, the team found a link between bad sleep and excessive ruminating about poor treatment at work.
The researchers said that while reflecting on bullying may initially seem like a way to resolve issues or try to understand the situation, it can lead to more harm in the long run.