Women are more likely to lose sleep over finances than men, reveals a new study by Manilla.com.
Carried out by Catalyst Group, the findings show almost 1 in 3 women endure sleepless nights thanks to financial woes. When asked what keeps them up at night, the most common answer for men (35 percent) was "nothing."
To-do lists and work stress followed as the next biggest sleep deprivation triggers for women at 18%.
The online study surveyed 1,000 men and women who earned average U.S. wages. The respondents surveyed skewed 71 percent female.
Considering that women now make the bulk of consumer decisions, and most control the family finances, these findings aren't so surprising, said Linda Descano, CFA, president and CEO of Women & Co., a service of Citibank that offers a financial education resource and community for women.
"With 66 percent of women now serving as CFO of their household, according to Women & Co. research, it's not surprising there is more to keep them up at night," she said in a news release.
And the combined affect of to-do lists and work stress on women's sleep probably wouldn't surprise Arlie Russell Hochschild, author of the landmark 1989 study 'The Second Shift', which found that working women do the vast majority of household chores.
Although recent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data show that women contribute only 20 minutes more in work each week than men -- that includes both paid and unpaid work -- as reported by TIME magazine, this doesn't reflect the fact that women do more unpaid work (i.e., housework) than men and that the emotional and financial strain of the two aren't equal. For instance, a study from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine found that the perceived responsibility for household chores was linked to high blood pressure.
In an interview with Mint.com, personal finance expert Manisha Thakor lays out women's financial reality:
- Women live longer –- an average of 5 to 7 years (according to the CDC)
- Women earn less –- still.77 on the male dollar (according to the Census Bureau)
- Women spend an average of 11.5 fewer years than men in the paid workforce, opting out to care for children and/or elderly parents (according to the Women’s Institute for a Secure Retirement)
Those numbers aren't exactly conducive to a good night's sleep.