How well you snooze at night has a lot to
do with how you spend your days—sleep quality has been linked with everything
from diet and exercise to electronic screen use. Now, a new study suggests that
something a little less tangible may play a role, as well: People who have a
strong purpose in life tend to sleep better through the night, with fewer
symptoms of sleep apnea (Sleep apnea (AP-ne-ah)
is a common disorder in which you have one or more pauses in breathing or
shallow breaths while you sleep)
and restless legs.
Published in the journal “Sleep Science and Practice”,
the study suggests that cultivating a sense of purpose could be a good
drug-free strategy for improving shut-eye. And while the study only included
adults ages 60 and up, the authors say their findings would likely apply to
younger age groups, as well.
The researchers, from Northwestern University and Rush
University Medical Center, knew that sense of purpose—defined in the study as
“having aspirations and goals for the future and feeing that experiences in
life are meaningful”—has been linked with numerous health outcomes, including reduced
risks of stroke and disability and a longer life. It’s also been shown to
improve sleep when measured at a single point in time.
To study the connection over a longer period, the
researchers recruited 823 participants, average age 79, and gave them a survey
to assess their overall sleep quality and the likelihood they suffered from
conditions such as sleep apnea (which affects breathing and oxygen levels
during sleep) and restless leg syndrome (during which uncomfortable sensations
and an urge to move keep people awake at night).
The participants also answered questions to determine their
psychological well-being and whether they had a purpose in life. Specifically,
they were asked to rate their responses to statements such as, “I feel good
when I think of what I’ve done in the past and what I hope to do in the
future,” and “some people wander aimlessly through life, but I am not one of
them.”
Overall, those who scored higher on the purpose-in-life
questionnaire were 63 percent less likely to have sleep apnea and 52 percent
less likely to have restless leg syndrome than those who scored lower. They
also had moderately better sleep-quality scores at the start of the study and
showed increased improvement over a one-year period.
“One interpretation of our findings is that individuals with
a high purpose in life tend to have better overall mental and physical health,”
the authors wrote. In other words, they sleep better because they have fewer
health issues keeping them up at night. Another possibility is that people with
higher levels of purpose tend to engage in more healthy behaviors, such as
exercise, regular doctor’s visits, and relaxing hobbies.
This finding could be especially important for older adults,
the authors say, since insomnia and other sleep problems tend to increase with
age. Doctors prefer to treat these issues without pharmaceuticals, when
possible, and this study may suggest that having a good reason to get up every
morning may help in that regard.
This study is also significant in that more than half of the
participants were African-American—a group that’s often left out of scientific
research, and that tends to have higher rates of sleep disturbance than their
white peers. “It appears that for both African American and White American
older adults, the more meaning and purpose one has in daytime activities, the
better one tends to sleep at night,” the authors wrote in their paper.
Addressing sleep disorders and disturbances is vital to
overall health, the authors wrote: Poor-quality shut-eye has been linked to
many physical and mental health problems, including depression, heart disease,
and impaired physical functioning.
The authors say the next step in this research should be to
study exactly how people can find or enhance their purpose in life—perhaps
through mindfulness-based therapies. If those enhancements do, in fact,
improve sleep, they could be a valuable tool for improving shut-eye for people
of all ages.
RELATED: The Surprising Benefit of Night Showers
Showering earlier in the evening gives your body a chance to
cool off and can even trigger sleep, says Shelby Harris, director of behavioral
sleep medicine at New York’s Montefiore Medical Center. Several studies have
shown that warming your body by taking a bath can help induce sleep when
there’s enough time to cool off afterward. While much of the research has
focused on baths, a 20-minute shower would have similar effects, Harris says.
Time your shower so you’re done about an hour and a half
before you want to hit the sack, Harris recommends. That way, by the time you
lay down in bed, your body will be cool, dry and ready for sleep.
This article was featured on www.health.com
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