DARIEN, IL – A new study to be presented at the SLEEP 2026 annual meeting found that people place different financial values on sleep, with those differences linked to factors such as age, income, and existing attitudes about sleep.
Results support a two-factor structure for the Monetary Sleep Value Questionnaire, reflecting two distinct dimensions: willingness to pay for increases in sleep quality and compensation required to give up sleep. Analyses found that older age was associated with lower compensation demands for sacrificing sleep, while higher income was associated with greater compensation expectations. Individuals with a "Sleep Devalue" profile required less money to give up sleep, while those with a "Sleep Appreciate" profile were willing to pay more for better sleep. All reported associations were statistically significant.
"How individuals financially value sleep may reflect broader attitudes about sleep, as well as their demographic characteristics such as age and income," said lead author Abigail Woolley, who is an undergraduate researcher at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. "The Monetary Sleep Value Questionnaire could serve as a valuable tool for understanding the economic factors that shape how people think about their sleep."
The American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends that adults get seven or more hours of sleep per night, recognizing that sleep is essential to health . Insufficient sleep has been estimated to carry substantial economic costs at the societal level. However, less is known about how individuals assign value to sleep.
The study used data from a survey of 455 adults across the continental United States (mean age 45 years; 53% female; 82% white; 50% married). Participants completed the Sleep Value Item Bank 2.0, which classifies individuals into one of five sleep value profiles (Unconcerned, Appreciative, Ambivalent, Devaluing, and Concerned), and the Monetary Sleep Value Questionnaire. The questionnaire comprises eight items assessing willingness to pay for sleep quality gains and eight items assessing compensation required for sleep losses, each ranging from one hour to one hour nightly for life. Analyses examined the questionnaire's structure and associations with demographics and sleep value profiles.
Woolley noted that integrating economic perspectives into sleep research may open new avenues for understanding how personal sleep values can inform intervention design.
"Integrating economic perspectives into sleep health research may offer novel insights for designing interventions that align with how individuals personally value their sleep," Woolley said.
The study was supported by a grant from the Sleep Research Society Foundation.
The research abstract was published recently in an online supplement of the journal Sleep and will be presented June 17 during SLEEP 2026 in Baltimore. SLEEP is the annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies, a joint venture of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society.
