Good sleep increases the feeling of gratitude – study

Monday 21st January 2013

A new study has highlighted that people that get more sleep have an increased feeling of gratitude.

Social psychologists have found that "prosocial" behaviour – expressing gratitude and giving to others – is key to our psychological well-being. New information suggests that getting enough sleep will make you more appreciative, therefore helping your psychological well-being.

Three studies have been conducted at the University of California to explore how poor sleep affects people’s feelings of gratitude. The first study looked at people who experienced a poor night’s sleep and found that they were less grateful after listing five things in life for which they were appreciative than were people who had slept well the night before.

In the second study the participants were asked to keep a record of their sleep from the previous night for two weeks and their levels of gratitude. The researchers found that a decline in gratitude levels was linked to poor sleep.

The third and final study looked at 60 heterosexual couples that kept a diary of their sleep patterns and how the quality of sleep affected their relationship and appreciations towards their partner. The results found that if either of the couple had a poor nights sleep they would be less grateful towards the other.

Tags: study research sleep gratitude poor

Category: Sleep Research

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