More Than Half of Americans Losing Sleep Over Money Issues

Photo courtesy Flickr/Elias Quezada

From staff reports

More than half of U.S. adults say they’ve lost sleep over at least one money issue, according to a new Bankrate.com report. 

That includes 18 percent who say they’ve lost sleep over worries they’d be unable to pay their mortgage or rent. In fact, that number is up from last year’s 12 percent who said housing costs kept them up at night.

Gen Xers and Millennials worry the most about this, with 24 percent of the former and 20 percent of the latter saying they’ve lost sleep over worrying about making rent. Fourteen percent of Baby Boomers said they had.

More than half (55 percent) of those who said they lost sleep over housing costs were optimistic they’d be able to resolve the issue, and 85 percent said they were taking steps to address it. Parents seem to worry more, with 24 percent losing sleep over making a house payment versus 16 percent of those without children in the home.

“When you’re wrestling with a big issue, it’s important to break it into manageable chunks. Devising a plan and starting to execute against it – piece by piece – is the best way to get things done,” said Bankrate.com analyst Ted Rossman. “Simply getting started should help you begin to feel better and settle your racing mind. That holds true whether you’re worried about health, money, relationships, work or anything else.”

What else is keeping adults up at night? Nearly 8 in 10 (78 percent) of U.S. adults lose sleep over daily stresses like work, relationships, and more, according to the Bankrate.com report. More than half (56 percent) of Americans, ages 18 and older, toss and turn over at least one money issue. 

The biggest money stressor: everyday expenses, which nearly 1 in 3 (32 percent) say they occasionally lose sleep over. 

Other than everyday expenses, the most popular financial insomnia contributors include saving enough money for retirement (24 percent), health care or insurance bills (22 percent), the ability to pay credit card debt (18 percent), mortgage or rent payments (18 percent), educational expenses (11 percent) and stock market volatility (5 percent). 

And if it’s not money, it’s health or any other number of issues that can make sleep elusive.

Americans say health is the next largest contributor to a lack of shut-eye (37 percent, up from 28 percent last year). Many U.S. adults also experience restless nights over relationships – including those with family members (29 percent), romantic partners (21 percent) and friends (17 percent) – as well as work (28 percent), politics (21 percent), climate change (14 percent) and raising children (13 percent).

To see the full report, click here.