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Trouble sleeping? You may have to look at your outlook on life. A study published online July 10, 2017 Sleep Science and Practice It found that folks who felt they’d more meaning and purpose of their lives had fewer sleep disorders corresponding to sleep apnea and restless legs syndrome.
Researchers asked 823 older adults, average age 79, to fill out questionnaires about their sleep quality and their feelings about their lives, corresponding to how strongly they agreed with statements corresponding to “I feel good when I think about what I have done in the past and what I will do in the future.”
The results showed a link between a more positive outlook and higher sleep. Those who felt their lives had meaning were 63 percent less more likely to have insomnia and 52 percent less more likely to have restless legs syndrome on the two-year follow-up.
According to the researchers, the connection could work in two ways. For example, individuals who be ok with their lives are more proactive about maintaining good health, corresponding to being energetic and exercising repeatedly, each of that are linked to raised sleep. Also, individuals who struggle with age-related problems that lower one’s outlook on life, corresponding to depression and heart disease, usually tend to have sleep problems.
