Self-control, sleep disturbance, and the mediating role of occupational burnout in married couples:

Although the importance of occupational burnout for sleep has long been recognized, it is largely examined as an individual phenomenon. Because a majority of adults in the U.S. share the bedroom with their partner, the current study examines the role of occupational burnout in understanding the link between self-control and sleep disturbance in close relationships. Data from 96 married couples were analyzed using the actor-partner interdependence mediation model. Both husbands' and wives' self-control (predictor) were linked to their levels of occupational burnout (mediator), and to husbands' sleep disturbance (outcome) through husbands' occupational burnout. Neither husbands' or wives' self-control nor occupational burnout scores related to wives' sleep disturbance. Findings from the current study identify burnout management in husbands as a potential nonpharmacological alternative approach to treating sleep disorders and emphasizes the need to examine predictors of sleep in a relational context.