A 10% increase in the income of relevant others is associated with 6-8 minutes decrease in a person's weekly amount of sleep on average; this effect is strong among the relatively deprived, i.e., upward comparers

Relative Concerns and Sleep Behavior. Alpaslan Akay, Peter Martinsson, Hilda Ralsmark. Economics & Human Biology, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ehb.2018.12.002

Highlights
•    There is a negative association between relative concerns and quantity and quality of sleep
•    The sleep loss associated to relative concerns is about 6-8 minutes/week on average
•    The loss is stronger among relatively deprived, i.e., upward comparers, with 10-12 minutes/week
•    The relationship is heterogenous among people with different working hours and leisure activities
•    The association is also stronger among unhealthy individuals with higher stress

Abstract: We investigate the relationship between relative concerns with respect to income and the quantity and quality of sleep using a 6-year panel dataset on the sleep behavior of people in Germany. We find a substantial negative association between relative income and number of hours of sleep and satisfaction with sleep, i.e., sleep quality, whereas there is no particular association between absolute level of income and sleep quantity and quality. A 10-percent increase in the income of relevant others is associated with 6-8 minutes decrease in a person's weekly amount of sleep on average, yet this effect is particularly strong among the relatively deprived, i.e., upward comparers, as this group shows a corresponding decrease in sleeping time of 10-12 minutes/week. These findings are highly robust to several specification checks, including measures of relative concerns, reference group, income inequality, and local price differences. The heterogeneity analysis reveals that the relationship is mainly driven by people with relatively fewer working hours, a higher demand for household production and leisure activities, and lower physical health and well-being.