Thinking happy thoughts can make you fly—at least Peter Pan would say so. But where do those happy thoughts come from? Well, recent research suggests, maybe sleep!
More precisely, the time you hit the hay and the amount of sleep you get overall can impact the amount of negative thoughts, fear and anxiety you have.
People who go to bed later and sleep for shorter amounts of time have “greater levels of worry, rumination and obsessing, the three factors that contribute to ‘repetitive negative thinking,’” according to a new study published in the Journal Cognitive Therapy and Research.
So, the takeaway here is that by simply tweaking your sleep patterns, you may be able to worry less and improve the way you think about life! Seriously?!
The study found that night owls—those who stay up later and try to do more in the evenings—tend to have more trouble with negative thoughts than those who rise earlier.
Scientists aren’t sure why yet (and these connections among bedtimes, negative thinking, anxiety and sleep amounts raise a chicken-or-egg kind of question, too), but some have suggested that we need to account for the body’s circadian rhythms.
These rhythms function to prepare us for certain types of tasks at certain times, and research indicates most people can best focus their attention and accomplish higher-level cognitive processes in the first few hours after waking. If we try to force our bodies to do those things later, the result may fall short of ideal.
For example, scientists think people are better able to inhibit certain thoughts and emotions earlier in the day and that ability diminishes as the hours move on. So asking a lot of yourself late in the day might be asking for trouble.
Of course, everyone is different and scientists still aren’t sure exactly how these variables are connected. But we know at least that sleep is a way we regulate and clarify our thoughts and emotions. When we sleep, we’re integrating memories and feelings, making connections between things and preparing, unconsciously, for the next day.
So next time you’re tempted to live the ole night owl life, try hitting the hay early and see how it works!
Are you a night owl or an early bird? Let us know how your sleep schedule works for you!