Associations between insomnia, sleep duration and poor work ability

Abstract Objective The aim of this study was to examine the independent and joint effect of insomnia and objective sleep duration on poor work ability. Methods In this cross-sectional study, a total of 2820 Chinese manufacturing workers were categorized as insomnia patients and individuals with normal sleeping pattern by interview according to DSM-IV criteria. Sleep duration was classified into four categories: ≥ 7 h, 6–7 h, 5–6 h, and Results Insomnia and objective short sleep duration were both independently associated with poor work ability. Compared with the normal sleeping and ≥ 7 h sleep duration group, the highest risk of poor work ability was in the insomnia patients with Conclusions Insomnia and sleep duration in workers are both separately and together associated with increased risk of poor work ability. Objective sleep duration should be taken into consideration when assessing the work ability of people with insomnia.