Why Sleep Is Key to Ending Poverty

Sleep is my biggest health issue, along with millions of other Americans. I know sleep is critical to my effectiveness as a CEO, as a family member, and as a friend. For me to just simply be a decent human being, I need to get at least six hours of sleep, and when I get eight, Im much more likely to be my best self. But in my 30 years of work with women in poverty, it is only now that the light bulb is going off that this is not a first world problem. In fact, addressing sleep and its main opponent, stress, may just be one of the most critical missing ingredients in our global efforts to ending poverty and securing all peoples health and well-being.

The light bulb went off for me at a Women for Women International (WfWI) graduation deep in the hills of Rwanda.

Graduation from the WfWI program is a big deal. Not only are the women in our program graduating with skills and knowledge to create change for themselves and their communities, they are taking a moment to celebrate this incredible achievement with their sisters in the program. Graduations can consist of up to 600 women. The huge audience in attendance includes the women as well as their families and village chiefs to celebrate this momentous occasion.

This was the scene as I sat to witness 600 women in Rwanda celebrate their success. During the ceremony, the graduates presented the items they bought with their savings from the program. Among the chickens, pigs, agricultural products, and weaving materials, there was one group of women who presented a mattress. The leader of this group was Martha. Martha explained, In the program we learned that you need to be healthy to be a good business women. And we need sleep to be healthy so to support our businesses we have bought ourselves mattresses to get better sleep.

Martha joined WfWIs program because she felt isolated in her home. She had to rely on her husband to give her money to buy anything; food, clothes for their nine children, and to pay their medical bills. When Martha enrolled in our program, she also joined a savings group in her village with other women from the program. All members of the savings groups pooled their funds and saved and, with those savings, every member of Marthas group bought a mattress.

Of all the things that could bring prosperity and economic stability to a household, Martha and her savings group chose a mattress. Previously, they had all had been sleeping on straw mats on the ground. A mattress would give Martha and her husband a more restful nights sleep. If we want women to realize their full potential to change lives, their own and their communities, this is a critical piece of information missing from how the international development space has worked to resolve issues of poverty.

But why is restful sleep so important to the women in our program? Because better sleep leads to healthier and more productive lives. Martha found sleep so necessary to her wellbeing and economic prosperity, she bought a mattress with the highly valued funds she receives from our program. She is not the only woman living in poverty experiencing sleep-related problems. The CDC recommends seven to nine hours of sleep per night for an adult. However, 150 million adults in the developing world suffer from lack of sleep and sleep-related problems. Specifically, lack of sleep is linked to anxiety and depression issues and is worse among women, older adults, and people who self-identify as having a low quality of life.

Research on the impact of sleep deprivation among ultra-poor, marginalized women in conflict affected countries, the women WfWI serves, has not yet been conducted. There is a study in India right now that is looking into the effects lack of sleep might have in perpetuating the cycle of poverty, but this study is not enough. On the other hand, we dont necessarily need a survey to tell us how much lack of sleep can impact our health, productivity, and happiness.

In her book The Sleep Revolution, Ariana Huffington says, You need to be able to nurture yourself in order to be a good mother, good at your job, good at servicing your community. I really believe women can do it all, but they can't do it all at the expense of their health, their sleep, and their sense of well-being. This is true for women all around the world. The women in our program work diligently to be good mothers, earn an income, and change their lives and their communities. This cannot be done without optimum health and a good nights sleep.

Im calling on the international community to dig deeper into this issue. We have barely scratched the surface and if we are ever to end extreme poverty by 2030 we need to start looking into how poverty is impacted by lack of sleep.