Current research study suggests that individuals understandings of their sleep quality play a more significant role in their well-being than unbiased sleep measurements from tracking technology. The study discovered that when participants believed they slept well, they felt more positive emotions and higher life satisfaction the next day, no matter the sleep trackers data.
New research study from the University of Warwick suggests that individuals perceptions of their sleep are more prominent on their wellness than information from sleep-tracking technology.
Throughout a two-week period, more than 100 individuals, aged between 18 and 22, kept an everyday sleep journal. They noted information from the preceding night such as bedtime, the time they prepared to sleep, the period it took them to drift off, wake-up time, the minute they got up, and their general satisfaction with their sleep.
Five times throughout the following day, participants were asked to rate their positive and unfavorable feelings and how satisfied they were with their life. Individuals also wore an actigraph on their wrist which determines a persons motion, throughout of the study, to approximate their sleep patterns and rest cycles.
Researchers compared the actigraphy data with the individuals perceptions of their sleep and how they felt throughout the following day. They desired to learn how changes in individualss typical sleep patterns and quality relate to their mood and life complete satisfaction the next day.
Lead author Dr. Anita Lenneis, from the University of Warwicks Department of Psychology, said: “Our results discovered that how young individuals examined their own sleep was consistently linked with how they felt about their well-being and life fulfillment.
” For example, when individuals reported that they slept much better than they usually did, they experienced more positive feelings and had a higher sense of life complete satisfaction the following day. However, the actigraphy-derived measure of sleep quality which is called sleep efficiency was not associated with the next days well-being at all.
” This recommends there is a difference in between actigraphy-measured sleep efficiency and peoples own understanding of their sleep quality in how they connect to individualss evaluations of their well-being.”
Teacher Anu Realo, from the Department of Psychology at the University of Warwick included: “Our findings are consistent with our previous research study that recognized peoples self-reported health, and not their actual health conditions, as the main aspect related to their subjective wellness and particularly with life satisfaction.
” Its peoples understanding of their sleep quality and not the actigraphy-based sleep effectiveness which matters to their well-being.”
In general, the research study recommends that examining your sleep positively may contribute to a much better mood on the next day.
” Even though a sleep tracking gadget may state that you slept badly last night, your own perception of your sleep quality might be rather positive. And if you believe that you slept well, it might help better your mood the next day,” Dr Lenneis added.
” On the contrary, if a sleep tracker informs you that you slept well, however you did not experience the night as such, this information may help you to reassess how well you in fact slept. A sleep tracker offers info about your sleep which is normally not accessible whilst being asleep. It may enhance your subjective understanding of last nights sleep and thus your total next days wellness.”
Referral: “The impact of sleep on subjective well-being: An experience sampling study” by Anita Lenneis, Ahuti Das-Friebel, Nicole K Y Tang, Adam N Sanborn, Sakari Lemola, Henrik Singmann, Dieter Wolke, Adrian von Mühlenen and Anu Realo, 3 August 2023, Emotion.DOI: 10.1037/ emo0001268.
