Focusing too much on sleep can backfire. Simply feeling like you got a good night’s rest does more for your mood than the actual measured quality of your sleep.
Good Sleep and Thoughts About It
A team of researchers asked more than 100 people ages 18–22 to keep a diary about the previous night’s sleep. Participants recorded when they went to bed, how long it took them to fall asleep, and how satisfied they were with their rest.
Five times throughout the following day, participants rated their positive and negative emotions and their life satisfaction. They also wore an actigraph on their wrist, a device that measures movement to assess sleep patterns and sleep–wake cycles.
As reported by the Daily Mail, the researchers compared the actigraph data with participants’ perceptions of their sleep and how they felt the next day. The results showed that people who felt they had slept well tended to be in a better mood the following day, even when the objective sleep data suggested their sleep had been poor.
Positive Perception of Sleep Quality Matters More Than Reality
Dr. Anita Lenneis, the study’s lead author, said that even if a sleep-tracking device flags poor sleep, a person’s own perception can still be positive. She says the belief that you slept well can help improve your mood the next day.
The research team said their findings line up with earlier studies showing that people’s self-assessment of their health, rather than their actual health status, is a key factor in life satisfaction. So remember: the way you think about your sleep can meaningfully affect your well-being.
