Better sleep leads to better financial conditions

Looking for a better night’s rest? Try stuffing some money under your mattress.

Metaphorically speaking, of course.

Good Savers Are Better Sleepers

It appears that the mere act of saving can help maximize quality of sleep.

According to a survey conducted on 2,000 people, one-third qualified as excellent sleepers. Within that group, nearly six out of 10 (59%) said they save money regularly to cover unforeseen home expenses, and more than half (52%) said they routinely save for retirement.

Conversely, those who aren’t consistently putting money toward those goals were far less likely to experience excellent sleep. Only 21% of those who don’t save to cover home expenses and just 25% of those who aren’t making an effort to create a retirement nest egg made it into the class of above average sleepers.

To put it simply, savers are twice as likely to be excellent sleepers.

How Financial Stress Becomes Sleep Stress

Cortisol is known as the stress hormone because our brains signal our adrenal glands to release it whenever we encounter a perceived threat. In a natural daily rhythm, our bodies have the lowest cortisol levels around midnight – coinciding with the time most of us have wound down from the day and retreated to the safe, relaxing confines of our bedrooms for some shut-eye.

But finding bills in the mail when you get home from work or learning that your son needs money for a scouting trip next week can spike your cortisol right when it’s supposed to be declining. You guessed it: a high cortisone level disrupts sleep.

Don’t Forget to Invest in Yourself

There’s a few smart things you can do beyond just saving money too. Setting and maintaining a consistent sleep schedule and avoiding well-known sleep disrupters, like alcohol, caffeine, digital screens and big meals, in the hours before you turn in can put you on the road to sleep success too.

Best of all, adding proper sleep practices to your daily routine won’t cost you a dime.