Optimistic people sleep better, longer: study
Theresearchers at UI studied more than 3,500 people aged 32-51. The participantsincluded people in Birmingham, Alabama; Oakland, California; Chicago; andMinneapolis, Xinhua reports.
Participants'levels of optimism were measured using a 10-item survey, which asked them torate on a five-point scale how much they agreed with positive statements suchas «I'm always optimistic about my future» and with negatively wordedsentences such as «I hardly expect things to go my way.»
Scores onthe survey ranged from six of least optimistic to 30 of most optimistic.
Participantsreported on their sleep twice, five years apart, rating their overall sleepquality and duration during the prior month. The survey also assessed theirsymptoms of insomnia, difficulty falling asleep and the number of hours ofactual sleep they obtained each night.
A subset ofthe participants was part of an ancillary sleep study based in Chicago and woreactivity monitors for three consecutive days including two weeknights and oneweekend night. Participants wore the monitors on two occasions a year apart.
The monitorscollected data on their sleep duration, percent of time asleep and restlessnesswhile sleeping.
Theresearchers found that with each standard deviation increase, the typicaldistance across data points, they had 78 percent higher odds of reporting verygood sleep quality in participants' optimism score.
Likewise,individuals with greater levels of optimism were more likely to report thatthey got adequate sleep, slumbering six to nine hours nightly. And they were 74percent more likely to have no symptoms of insomnia and reported less daytimesleepiness.
«Resultsfrom this study revealed significant associations between optimism and variouscharacteristics of self-reported sleep after adjusting for a wide array ofvariables, including socio-demographic characteristics, health conditions anddepressive symptoms,» said Rosalba Hernandez, a professor of social workat UI.
Accordingto a 2016 report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 1 in3 U.S. adults fails to get adequate sleep, escalating their risks of manychronic diseases.
«Thelack of healthy sleep is a public health concern, as poor sleep quality isassociated with multiple health problems, including higher risks of obesity,hypertension and all-cause mortality,» Hernandez said.
While theresearchers aren't sure of the exact mechanism through which optimisminfluences sleep patterns, they hypothesize that positivity may buffer theeffects of stress by promoting adaptive coping, which enables optimists to restpeacefully.
Thefindings have been published in the journal Behavioral Medicine.