A model of sleep, leisure and work over the business cycle

This paper uses a single-sector dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) model to analyze time use patterns over the business cycle. Using data from the American Time Use Survey, we solve and simulate a model of a utility maximizing consumer subject to a penalty function based on a biological model for sleep. We find that sleep is countercyclical with the business cycle: sleep increases as economic activity declines. We also show that our model provides a reasonable estimate of observed sleep behavior over the period from 2003 through 2016. Our results suggest that separating sleep from other non-work activities is a useful and productive exercise for these types of models.