We, as a society, know so much about sleep; the issues you experience when you don’t get enough, the health complications you experience when your sleep quality is poor and so on. For example, all you mamas have likely experienced cravings for not-so-healthy, nutrient poor foods when you had a terrible night's sleep or you skipped your morning exercise routine to catch some extra zzz’s. If not resolved, a lack of sleep or poor sleep can wreak havoc on your goals of improving your health and enjoying your most satisfying life.
What’s interesting is there is still so much we don’t yet know about sleep. With further research, scientists are learning more about how your brain structures and chemical messages (neurotransmitters) respond to sleep and its various cycles.
Additionally, researchers are interested in learning more about the connection between sleep and your happiness!
So sleep happy, be happy? Let’s explore…
Happiness
To set the stage, it’s extremely unlikely and completely unnatural to feel “happy” all the time. Sure being happy feels good, but there’s a difference between feeling “happy” all the time and enjoying the state of being happy; having a general positive regard for life that leads to satisfaction and contentment. The latter is indicative of progress toward optimal wellbeing - likely what you’re striving for as you explore this information (you go mama!).
Imagine being satisfied with how you spend your time, with whom you spend your time, and on what you spend your time. Imagine feeling content with your life and how you live. Sure there are likely things you want to improve upon, progress, or enhance, but overall, you are satisfied and content. This yields the cultivation of your sense of happiness!
So when we talk about happiness, we’re talking about having a general positive regard for your life - you see life as being meaningful, purposeful, and you generally feel good!
Happiness and its Connection to Sleep
Now that you have an understanding of happiness, it’s time to explore the connection between happiness and sleep!
A study published in 2018 in the journal Frontiers in Psychology identified that when study participants slept well, they were more likely to feel satisfied with their lives. Even when researchers adjusted for personality traits that impact study participants' beliefs about happiness, the results continued to demonstrate the connection between good quality sleep and sense of happiness.
Although it’s not understood physiologically how sleep and happiness are related, one idea that researchers found to be relevant was that those who viewed happiness as a limited resource - for example, there is only so much happiness in the world and I when I’m happy, someone else is not - may be at fault for the negative impact of poor sleep and low levels of life satisfaction. Essentially, when you have a strong belief in the control you have over your happiness and what enhances your happiness, you’re more likely to sleep well and enjoy a fulfilling sense of happiness. Researchers hypothesized that there may be an inverted relationship between sleep and life satisfaction, more long-term research is necessary to exemplify more specifics of how happiness and high quality sleep go hand in hand.
Now that you understand the connection between sleep and happiness, I invite you to evaluate your sleep routine.
Do you have a nighttime routine?
If so, what's it like?
How good is your sleep?
What could you change in your environment to support high quality sleep?
Ahh, waking feeling rested, rejuvenated, and restored? Congratulations to you! You’re well on your way to supporting your healthiest, happiest self.
In Happiness, Mamas!
Amanda, Founder
Published March 16, 2022
Booker K. Good Night's Sleep Linked to Happiness. Cornell Chronicle. Published April 26, 2013. Accessed March, 16 2022. https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2013/04/good-nights-sleep-linked-happiness#:~:text=Although%20happiness%20is%20generally%20good,the%20Annals%20of%20Behavioral%20Medicine.
Shin JE, Kim JK. How a Good Sleep Predicts Life Satisfaction: The Role of Zero-Sum Beliefs About Happiness. Front Psychol. 2018;9:1589. Published 2018 Aug 28. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01589.
Better Sleep Can Make Us Feel Like A Million Bucks. Medical News Today. Reviewed March 9, 2022. Accessed March 16, 2022. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/316445#Quality-sleep-and-less-sleep-medication-should-be-public-health-values.
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