This study revealed a relatively high prevalence of short sleep duration on weekdays among working-age adults in Poland, with significant associations between sleep disturbances and female gender, lower education, urban residence, poor financial situation, and bad health status.
Key Findings
Results
17.9% of working-age adults in Poland reported sleeping less than 7 hours on weekdays, with men more affected than women.
Sample size was 5,006 working-age adults (18-64 years) surveyed in December 2024 in a nationwide cross-sectional survey.
21.7% of men reported short sleep duration on weekdays compared to 14.1% of women (p < 0.001).
Short sleep duration was defined as less than 7 hours per day.
The sex difference in weekday short sleep duration was statistically significant at p < 0.001.
Results
6.5% of respondents reported sleeping less than 7 hours on weekends, again with men more affected than women.
8.0% of men reported short sleep duration on weekends compared to 4.9% of women (p < 0.001).
The prevalence of short sleep on weekends (6.5%) was substantially lower than on weekdays (17.9%).
The sex difference in weekend short sleep duration was statistically significant at p < 0.001.
Results
12.0% of respondents reported sleep disturbances daily or almost daily during the past three months.
17.5% reported sleep disturbances a few times a week.
22.5% reported sleep disturbances a few times a month.
15.8% reported sleep disturbances less than once a month.
32.5% reported never experiencing sleep disturbances.
Results
Sleep disturbances varied significantly by gender, age, educational level, place of residence, employment status, self-reported financial situation, and self-reported health status.
All listed sociodemographic and health-related factors showed significant differences in sleep disturbance prevalence (p < 0.05).
Factors examined included gender, age, educational level, place of residence, employment status, financial situation, and health status.
These differences were identified through bivariate analyses prior to multivariable modeling.
Results
In multivariable logistic regression, female gender, lower education, living in large cities, poor financial situation, and bad health status were independently associated with higher odds of reporting sleep disturbances.
Female gender was associated with higher odds of sleep disturbances (p < 0.001).
Having primary education (p < 0.001) or secondary education (p < 0.05) was associated with higher odds of sleep disturbances compared to higher education.
Living in cities over 500,000 inhabitants was associated with higher odds of sleep disturbances (p < 0.01).
Poor financial situation was associated with higher odds of sleep disturbances (p < 0.001).
Bad health status was associated with higher odds of sleep disturbances (p < 0.001).
Conclusions
The authors concluded that public health interventions focused on sleep health should be particularly targeted to males, older adults, those with primary or vocational education, and those of poor economic status.
Despite men reporting more short sleep duration, women reported more sleep disturbances in the multivariable model, suggesting different dimensions of sleep health affect different groups.
The findings underscore the need to strengthen public health interventions focused on sleep health.
Targeting of interventions was recommended based on the identified risk factor profiles.
What This Means
This research suggests that poor sleep is a widespread public health issue among working-age adults in Poland. Nearly one in five adults (17.9%) slept fewer than the recommended 7 hours on weekdays, and about one in eight (12%) experienced sleep disturbances almost every day. Men were more likely to get too little sleep overall, but women were more likely to report frequent sleep disturbances once other factors were accounted for. Sleep problems were also more common among people with lower education levels, those living in very large cities, those in poor financial circumstances, and those in poor general health.
The study highlights that sleep difficulties are not evenly distributed across the population — certain groups face much higher risks. For example, financial hardship and poor health were among the strongest predictors of frequent sleep disturbances. The gap between weekday and weekend sleep (17.9% vs. 6.5% reporting short sleep) also suggests that work schedules and related stress may play a meaningful role in sleep loss during the working week.
This research suggests that addressing sleep problems requires targeted public health strategies rather than one-size-fits-all approaches. Interventions may need to focus especially on men (who show the highest rates of insufficient sleep duration), older working-age adults, people with lower levels of education, and those experiencing economic hardship. Improving sleep health at a population level could have broader benefits for physical health, mental wellbeing, and workplace productivity.
Check Your Own Numbers
Upload your bloodwork. We'll cross-reference your results against this study and 4,700 others.
Sierpiński R, Jankowski M, Kamińska A, Raciborski F. (2026). The prevalence of short sleep duration and sleep disturbances among working-age adults in Poland - a secondary analysis.. Frontiers in public health. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2026.1812130