Changes in sleep duration associated with retirement transitions: The role of naps

This study examined the changes in sleep duration (total sleep time, night‐time sleep and daytime naps) after retirement transitions in China using a panel dataset of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study in 2011, 2013 and 2015 with a total of 48,458 respondents. Linear regression analysis with generalized estimating equations was employed to examine the changes in sleep duration after transitions between different types of employment status. After controlling for the confounders, the results showed that the retired population and the population working in agricultural sectors slept 8.02 (p < .01) and 5.19 (p < .01) minutes longer than the population working in non‐agricultural sectors, respectively. Employment transition also had significant effects on sleep duration. Transition from non‐agricultural sectors to retirement increased total sleep time by 13.58 (p < .01) minutes and also raised the probability of daytime naps by 18% (OR = 1.18, p < .01). Transition from agricultural employment to retirement did not significantly affect the total sleep time, but significantly increased the probability of daytime naps (OR = 1.12, p = .02). Reentering the non‐agricultural sectors for the retirees did not significantly affect night‐time sleep, but decreased the probability of daytime naps (OR = 0.73, p < .01) and daytime nap duration (by 5.26 min, p = .01). In conclusion, people in China increased their sleep duration after transitions to retirement, but the magnitudes were much smaller than those in Western countries. Differences may be attributed to an abundant amount of Chinese people working in agricultural sectors, the high volume of retired people reentering the work force and the large proportion of people in China that had daytime naps at baseline.