Better sleep linked with lower loneliness in new study

A new study to be presented at the SLEEP 2024 annual meeting found that better sleep health was associated with lower levels of loneliness, and this association was stronger among younger adults.

The results were published in the journal SLEEP.

According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, sleep is essential to health. The AASM and the Sleep Research Society recommend that adults should sleep seven hours per night on a regular basis to promote optimal health, productivity and daytime alertness.

Better sleep is crucial for overall health because it allows the body to rest, repair, and rejuvenate. Quality sleep supports a strong immune system, helping you fight off illnesses more effectively. It also plays a key role in brain function, enhancing memory, learning, and concentration. Adequate sleep regulates hormones that control hunger and metabolism, which can help maintain a healthy weight. Additionally, good sleep reduces stress and lowers the risk of mental health issues like anxiety and depression.

The study involved 2,297 adults with a mean age of 44 years. Participants completed an online sleep health questionnaire and loneliness scale. The researchers analysed the results using correlation and linear regression analyses along with moderation analyses.

Results indicate that better sleep health was associated with significantly lower total loneliness, emotional loneliness and social loneliness. While better sleep health was associated with lower total and emotional loneliness across ages, this association was stronger for younger adults. However, age did not moderate the association between sleep health and social loneliness.

“Loneliness is an urgent public health crisis, and there is a pressing need for providers to better understand and treat it. Our results highlight the important role that sleep plays in understanding loneliness across the adult lifespan. Perhaps efforts to improve sleep health could have a beneficial effect on loneliness, especially for young people,” said lead author and principal investigator Joseph Dzierzewski.

Reference: Spencer Nielson, Julia Boyle, Joseph Dzierzewski, 0746 Rested and Connected: An Exploration of Sleep Health and Loneliness Across the Adult Lifespan, Sleep, Volume 47, Issue Supplement_1, May 2024, Pages A319–A320, https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/zsae067.0746