Sleep Deprivation and Shift Work Increase Depression Risk by 4 Times

Daytime Workers with Adequate Sleep Have Lower Depression Rates
20s with Less Family Support Stress Unaffected by Sleep Amount or Work Type

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] People who suffer from lack of sleep or work in shifts are found to be up to nearly four times more likely to experience depression compared to daytime workers who get the appropriate 6 to 8 hours of sleep.

According to the paper titled "The Impact of Workers' Sleep Duration and Work Type on Depression," published in the recent issue of the Korean Health Research by the Korean Health Association, the study analyzed the sleep and work patterns of 13,191 workers aged 19 and older who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey conducted by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency in 2014, 2016, 2018, and 2020.

The researchers first measured the severity of depression among the subjects on a scale of 0 to 27, classifying those with scores of 10 or higher or currently undergoing depression treatment as the "depression group." For sleep duration, 6 to 8 hours was considered appropriate sleep time, and workers engaged in evening, night, 24-hour shift, split, or irregular shift work, excluding daytime workers (6 a.m. to 6 p.m.), were all classified as "shift workers."

Among the 13,191 participants, 601 (4.36%) were classified as part of the depression group. Analyzing the correlation between their sleep and work types, the group with insufficient sleep and shift work was about 2.3 times more likely to experience depression compared to the daytime workers with appropriate sleep.

When dividing the subjects by age and work type, those in their 30s who worked shifts and had insufficient sleep were 3.9 times more likely to feel depressed compared to their peers who worked daytime shifts and had adequate sleep. Among daytime workers, those with insufficient sleep had depression rates 3.7 times higher in their 30s and 3.6 times higher in their 40s compared to those with adequate sleep, indicating that getting sufficient sleep plays an important role in reducing depression, comparable to the impact of work type.

For those in their 50s, the depression rates for insufficient sleep daytime workers and shift workers were 2.3 times and 3.9 times higher, respectively, compared to daytime workers with adequate sleep. In contrast, for people in their 20s, the impact of sleep and work type on depression was not statistically significant. The researchers explained this by stating, "For middle-aged adults who need to maintain economic activity and support their families, shift work and insufficient sleep act as sources of task-related stress."

The researchers added, "Since the effects of work type and sleep duration vary by age group, improvements in work types and tailored strategies according to life cycle are required for the prevention and early detection of depressive symptoms."