They say money can’t buy happiness. Although I’ve never seen anyone frowning on a jet ski, there’s another important link between quality of life and money. It’s no surprise that people who live in poverty have quality of life challenges and increased health crises. This article looks at the link between poverty’s effect on sleep and quality of life.
Worldwide, more than 1 billion people, about 14% of the global population, live in slums where houses are built with anything from plywood or cardboard to sheets of plastic. While the term “slum” may carry different meanings in various countries and cultures, one accepted definition involves eight or more families occupying a land area and not having access to at least one of these three basic services: water, electricity, or sewer. Not only could these conditions significantly lower quality of life, they can also adversely affect sleep as well. However, there is little scientific research on the sleep hygiene, habits, and quality of those who live in slums. In a recent study published in the journal SLEEP, a group of researchers set out to investigate not only sleep data for slum-dwellers, but also how that data might be changed if their housing is improved.”