Psychological factors and healthy sleep in a Portuguese sample of employees with regular working hours

ABSTRACT The aim of our study was to explore the contribution of psychological factors for healthy sleep within a sample of one hundred employees (M= 43.4 ± 9.91 years; 74% female) with regular working schedules. Participants completed a set of questionnaires about sociodemographic characteristics, lifestyle behaviours, sleep times, healthy sleep, insomnia, sleep hygiene behaviours, personality traits, work-related cognitions, mood and well-being. Descriptive, correlational and multiple linear regression analyses were performed. Extraversion, perception that work effort was properly rewarded, job autonomy, satisfaction with working conditions, vigour-activity, friendship and well-being were positively associated with healthy sleep; arousal predisposition, neuroticism, can't stop thinking of work, rumination, worry, depression-dejection, tension-anxiety, confusion-bewilderment and fatigue-inertia were negatively associated. Multiple linear regression analyses identified four factors that mostly contributed to healthy sleep (41.3%): neuroticism (R2 = .245, p< .001), worry during sleep (R2 change= .094 p= .001), well-being (R2 change= .044, p= .016) and job autonomy (R2 change= .030, p= .041). Employees with lower levels of neuroticism, less worry during the night, better well-being and higher autonomy at work experienced healthier sleep. To promote healthy sleep among employees with regular/daytime working hours it might be important to consider personality traits, work-related cognitions and well-being.