Topline
New research shows quality of sleep may positively impact quality of life, and experts recommend getting enough rest in ample sleeping conditions for better life satisfaction.
Top View of a Young Woman Sleeping Cozily on a Bed.
Key Facts
A new study published Wednesday in Plos One reveals that quality of sleep is a better indicator of quality of life than sleep duration or “social jetlag,” when biological sleep rhythms and socially directed sleep rhythms don’t align.
The study looks at the effects of the three sleep variables on Czech study participants over time (between 2018 and 2020) and found quality of sleep was a bigger contributor to quality of life than the other variables.
A 2021 study published in Sleep Science reported poor sleep quality is associated with impaired quality of life, especially if the participant reported depression or anxiety.
According to the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, the benefits of getting enough quality sleep include reduced stress and improved mood, thinking more clearly, maintaining a healthy weight, getting sick less often, a lowered risk of developing serious health problems and getting along better with people.
One third of American adults do not get enough sleep, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Adults between the ages of 18 and 64 need at least seven hours of sleep each night, while adults 65 and older need seven to eight hours of sleep.
Around 50 to 70 million U.S. citizens are affected by a sleep disorder, with 25 million adults in the U.S. struggling with obstructive apnea.
How To Improve Sleep Quality
The CDC recommends developing good sleeping habits (or sleep hygiene) to get into a routine of quality sleep.
- Going to sleep at the same time every day and waking up at the same time, even on the weekends. A study published in BMC Public Health found students with irregular sleep schedules experienced insufficient sleep compared to those with regular sleep schedules.
- A dark, quiet, relaxed room at a comfortable temperature is essential for quality sleep. However, if noise is needed to fall asleep, Ahmad Boota, a pulmonologist and sleep medicine specialist with Bon Secours St. Francis, told Greenville News an “audio-only source” is recommended over turning on the TV, which frequently changes in volume and emits a light that can be disruptive.
- Exercise and being physically active during the day can help with falling asleep more easily at night. Working out helps decompress the mind and stabilize moods, which is an important process for “naturally transitioning to sleep,” Charlene Gamaldo, a medical director of Johns Hopkins Center for Sleep at Howard County General Hospital, told Johns Hopkins Medicine.
- Removing all electronics from the bedroom. A 2021 study examined the connection between electronic device use and sleep quality among college students and found those who used devices two hours before bed had poorer sleep quality than those who didn’t.
- Avoiding caffeine, large meals and alcohol before bed. Jade Wu, a board-certified sleep psychologist and a Mattress Firm sleep advisor, told Verywell that eating foods high in carbs, sugar and caffeine before bed means the “metabolism is still working hard,” keeping the body’s temperature higher than recommended for sleep and tricking the brain into “not feeling the sleepiness it has accumulated.”
Quality Of Life
The World Health Organization identifies quality of life as a person’s perception of their position in life within society and in relation to their goals, expectations, concerns and standards. There are five indicators used to determine quality of life:
- Life satisfaction: A Nursing and Health Science study discovered a positive correlation between not only life satisfaction and quality of life, but also between life satisfaction and the other four indicators of quality of life. When a person is content with their life, all other areas typically do well, too.
- Subjective health: Several different entities like WHO and Healthy People (the U.S. government’s database of health trends over each decade) track health-related quality of life. The CDC tracks it on an individual level (a person’s physical and mental health perceptions) and on the community level (access to community resources, policies and practices that affect a population’s health perceptions and functional status). Healthy People 2000, 2010 and 2020 identified quality of life improvement as important to advancing public health goals because when a society is in good health, its quality of life is high.
- Work stress: A 2017 study found that when people have high levels of work stress, their quality of life diminishes. This is mainly due to lack of recognition or reward related to stress. Stress doesn’t just affect the employee, but the business as well. It’s estimated work-related stress costs the U.S. economy $300 billion annually, and British employers $1,091.38 per employee.
- Well-being: The CDC defines well-being as a positive outcome that indicates people believe their lives are going well. Some well-being indicators include quality of relationships, living conditions, realization of potential, positive emotions and overall satisfaction with life.
- Happiness: According to a study published in Plos One, people with a higher quality of life tend to identify as happy. Happiness can be found in all aspects of life, like work, school or relationships. “How happy we are in our relationships has a powerful influence on our health,” Robert Waldinger, a psychiatrist at Massachusetts General Hospital and a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, told the Harvard Gazette.
