Understanding Ageing, Understanding Sleep: Capitalising on Understanding Society

Presenter: Professor Sara Arber, University of Surrey

Author: Professor Sara Arber

The paper will explore three inter-linked areas of my own research, and in so doing illustrate the richness and potential of ‘Understanding Society’ for answering novel sociological and policy relevant research questions.

Recent UK policy changes are predicated on government assumptions that older men and women will continue to work in their late sixties. Focusing primarily on men and women aged 65-69 (n=3400) in ‘Understanding Society’ (2012-13, wave 4), the paper examines gender differences in participation in paid employment/self-employment, the nature of employment and inequalities in income received. Nearly half of economically active men aged 65-69 are self-employed, as are a third of women.

Being employed/self-employed in the late sixties is associated with health and educational advantages. Levels of income inequality from employment, and especially from self-employment, are very marked. The top 10% of self-employed men earn 10 times more than the lowest 25%, and earn 20 times more than the lowest 25% of self-employed women. Continued economic activity may compound gender and other inequalities in later life. Sleep is increasingly seen as central to health and well-being.

‘Understanding Society’ is used to analyse socio-economic inequalities in sleep quality, and consider to what extent sleep may be a mediator in the link between marital status/marital quality and poor health. Finally, the paper analyses caregiving and sleep, and shows that co-resident care-giving is strongly associated with poor sleep. However, poor health and not being employed are implicated in these relationships among working age carers, but not among older caregivers.