Sleep, physical activity and mental health among 361 French business leaders: A cross-sectional descriptive study

Valentin Bourlois, Pauline Baron, Charlotte Elsworth-Edelsten, Sonia Levillain, Charlotte Bonduelle, Yohan Roussel, Thierry Pezé and Rémy Hurdiel

PLOS Global Public Health, 2026, vol. 6, issue 2, 1-13

Abstract: Recent studies revealed that more than half of French business leaders are at risk of burnout. They sacrifice sleep, physical activity and often work over 60 hours weekly. Poor sleep and lack of exercise contribute to major health issues in general population. To date, no study explored the variations in health status among business leaders across different types and sizes of companies. This study aims to assess health among French business leaders, focusing on sleep quality, physical activity, anxiety, and stress levels across their different organizational contexts. We hypothesized that hierarchical positions and level of responsibility was associated with severity of health issues. 361 business leaders (158 women/203 man) agreed to complete questionnaires including: Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index, Perceived Stress Scale, Global Anxiety Disorder and International Physical Activity Questionnaire. RStudio software was utilized for descriptive statistics and analyses. Results revealed that 67.3% of them have poor sleep, 47.8% are highly stressed, and 22.5% have very low levels of physical activity. Women exhibit worse mental health and top leaders of small enterprise experience more stress, practice less physical activity and have poorer sleep The findings underscore the need for targeted health promotion strategies for leaders that take into consideration sex and organizational context.

Date: 2026
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:plo:pgph00:0005880

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgph.0005880

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