Not only does sleep deprivation cause a variety of health problems, but a new study shows that sleep deprivation hurts the joy you feel in life. A research team at the University of British Columbia in Canada surveyed 1,982 adults aged 33 to 84 to investigate the effect of sleep time on responses to everyday events.
The research team conducted telephone interviews for eight consecutive days after investigating the subjects’ basic sleep time. In the interview, I asked about the time of my sleep the previous day, the positive or negative events I experienced that day, and the feelings I received from the incident.
The research team found that people are usually happy that day when they experience positive things, such as hugging or spending time in nature. However, analysis of the interview results revealed that if the sleep time is less than usual, the positive emotions received from positive events also decrease. Also, the decrease in positive emotions caused by negative events seems to have been increased by lack of sleep.
While a decrease in positive emotions due to lack of sleep was confirmed, a longer sleep period may increase the positive emotions received from positive events. In addition, the negative effects of stressful events were also alleviated.
The researchers found that for people with chronic health problems, the benefits of increased sleep time are great. People with chronic health problems may find that sleeping longer than usual can lead to more positive reactions to positive events the next day.
The research team points out that there are several limitations because the study relies on patient self-report by telephone interview. However, as an initial study in everyday conditions, not laboratory conditions, the results of this study are expected to be helpful for future investigations. It is pointed out that in developed countries, the recommended sleep time tends to be less than 7 to 9 hours, and the sleeping time tends to decrease further depending on the corona19 epidemic. He said that increasing sleep priorities and sleeping longer has a positive effect on not only health but also happiness in life. Related information can be found here .