Good Sleepers are Happier, Study Suggests

Lisa Franchi March 09, 2015

The time you spend on bed each night has a big impact on your well-being and happiness, according to new research. In the study which involved over 7,000 adults, found that people who reported getting more sleep also had a higher overall well-being than those who said they got less sleep.

For example, the average well-being score for people who reported getting 8 hours of sleep a night was 65.7 out of 100, compared with 64.2 for those who got 7 hours of sleep and 59.4 for those who got 6 hours of sleep.

Researchers from Gallup and Healthways calculated the well-being scores based on participants’ answers to questions about their sense of purpose, social relationships, financial lives, community involvement and physical health. They found that 42 per cent of Americans get less than 7 hours of sleep a night, which is the minimum amount recommended by the National Sleep Foundation for people ages 18 and older.

But because the poll was conducted at one point in time, rather than over a long study period, it cannot say whether getting more sleep boosts well-being or if people who have higher well-being tend to get more sleep.

Because a person’s well-being is also known to be connected to their level of engagement at work, employers may want to consider allowing employees to work more flexible hours to help them balance their sleep with their work and family obligations, a statement about the poll from Gallup said.

The poll was based on a survey conducted in 2014 between Sept. 5 and 19, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 1 percentage point.

Getting quality sleep remains a challenge

More and more people are having a hard time getting enough sleep each night. There are different factors that affect sleep quality, such as work hours, family obligations, conditions such as insomnia, or poor physical health.

Sleep must be a priority. And luckily, simple lifestyle tweaks can do the trick. But if after taking the right measures to improve sleep and you still see no result, it is always advisable to seek help from a sleep professional.

Source of this article: People Who Get A Good Night’s Sleep Are Happier