Many scientific works have shown the importance of rest to improve our quality of life and enable us to successfully carry out daily tasks. Now, a group of scientists from the University of California, Berkeley (USA) have shown that lack of sleep also makes us more self-centered and affects our personal relationships.
In a first study, researchers assessed the quantity and quality of participants’ sleep using an adaptation of the Pittsbugh questionnaire. The volunteers were also asked to make a list of five things they were thankful for . The results revealed that, in general, people who slept better were more appreciative in their relationships with others than those who reported having sleep problems.
In a second study, the scientists found that people felt less appreciated by their partner if the latter had slept little or badly. “Lack of sleep makes us more selfish, and makes us prioritize our needs over our partner’s,” explains Amie Gordon, one of the study’s authors. To reach these conclusions, the researchers followed more than 60 couples between the ages of 18 and 56 who had to keep a diary in which they noted the quality of their sleep. In addition, a series of recordings were made in which each couple resolved daily conflicts.
“The consequences of lack of sleep not only affect who suffers them,” Gordon explained at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Social Psychology and Personality held in New Orleans (USA). “This problem affects the way we interact with other people and our ability to say thank you, a fundamental emotion in our social relationships.”
