Do you have the sleep pattern linked with chronic negativity?

Tuesday, August 29, 2023. Revised June 9, 2024.

Researchers have uncovered how a change to your daily routine might help reduce the number of unwanted negative thoughts that you have to deal with on an ongoing basis.

If you’re on your laptop in the wee hours of the morning while you partner sleeps next to you is, more or less, going to bed too late, you’re abbreviating your REM sleep.

This is now correlated with persistent negative thoughts, according to neuroscience research.

Even among “owls” who prefer to sleep later because their brains are wired that way. The study found they had more repetitive anxious thoughts than those who kept more regular hours.

• Bottom line? Humans who go to bed later tend to get swarmed with more negative thoughts than those who keep more regular sleeping hours.

It’s pretty common for humans who experience a pattern of intrusive, negative thinking typically describe that they feel as if they have no control over over their negativity.

They’re anxious about both the future and the past, and the these negative cognitions elbow their way into being “top of mind” Unchallenged, negative thinking seeps into everyday life.

Unrestrained negative thinking has been linked to anxiety disorders, depression, and OCD.

How the Study was Conducted

The researchers put together 100 adult study subjects. They were asked to describe their sleeping patterns. They were also administered tests which assessed the frequency of their negative thinking.

The tests assessed how much humans tend to:

• Worry.

• Obsess.

• Ruminate.

  The research established a correlation between persistent negative thoughts and turning into bed to attempt to fall asleep rather late.

  Researchers are focused on understanding negative thinking because “stinkin thinkin ’’ is a wellspring of serious mental health suffering.

Once a human is feeling anxiety, depression, stress, or OCD, they report having little control over the negative thoughts that continually hijack their thoughts.

While this study can’t claim that better sleep hygiene will relieve persistent negative thoughts, researchers frequently cite that healthy sleep offers a wide spectrum of benefits.

Dr Meredith Coles, who co-authored the study, said:

“If further findings support the relation between sleep timing and repetitive negative thinking, this could one day lead to a new avenue for treatment of individuals with internalizing disorders.

Studying the relation between reductions in sleep duration and psychopathology has already demonstrated that focusing on sleep in the clinic also leads to reductions in symptoms of psychopathology.”

Dr Jacob A. Nota, the study’s first author, said:

“Making sure that sleep is obtained during the right time of day may be an inexpensive and easy intervention for individuals who are bothered by intrusive thoughts.”

Final Thoughts on this study

I find myself wondering if this is a sleep cycle issue or a sleep divorce symptom. While I’m always looking for quick and easy hacks to help my clients achieve a better outcome, I find myself wondering whether negative thinking has a role that is more systemic.

We’re increasingly realizing that sleep hygiene is crucial for relationship satisfaction. If we sleep well, we love better. Try to go to bed simultaneously and synchronize your sleep cycles.

Be well, and Godspeed.

RESEARCH:

Nota, J.A., Coles, M.E. Duration and Timing of Sleep are Associated with Repetitive Negative Thinking. Cogn Ther Res 39, 253–261 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-014-9651-7