SLEEP MAY INFLUENCE THE QUALITY OF HUMAN RELATIONS, according to a new study. A lack of good quality sleep is associated with a lower desire to help others. Today we explore the relationship between sleep and charity.
I have often written about the relationship between insufficient sleep and negative health outcomes. If you regularly get inadequate sleep, you are more prone to develop several health conditions, including:
Insufficient sleep is associated with seven of the fifteen leading causes of death.
Unfortunately, many of the population sleep far less than the recommended minimum. The United States Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reports that up to 43 percent of adults reported short sleep in 2020.
I recently read a piece with this provocative title: “Insufficient Sleep Syndrome: Is it time to classify it as a major noncommunicable disease?”
But does sleep quality or quantity influence behaviors that benefit others? Today we look at the possible relationship between sleep and prosocial behavior.
Sleep loss makes us less prosocial
Now that we have taken a quick look at how not getting sufficient sleep is linked to numerous health problems let’s look at prosocial behavior.
Historical studies show that inadequate sleep results in less activity in brain regions associated with empathy and prosocial behaviors such as voting. Sleep influences brain regions linked with social cognition, or the ability to process social information and respond to social situations.
A recent study indicates that sleep influences the quality of human relations. A loss of good quality sleep is associated with a decreased desire to help others.
Researchers did three separate experiments to understand better how sleep influences prosocial behavior at the societal, group, and individual levels.
For the first experiment, researchers looked at the impact of sleep deprivation on helping behavior within the same individual. The scientists used a questionnaire to assess the willingness of the subjects to help others in everyday situations (such as helping a stranger carrying groceries or needing directions).
One day, the participants did a questionnaire after being awake for 24 hours. On a separate day, the subjects had a night’s sleep before doing the questionnaire.
Sleep and charity: Study participants demonstrated a decline in the desire to help others after being sleep deprived than after being rested.
This decline in prosocial behavior persisted after the researchers controlled for factors such as attention, mood, and motivation to engage in effortful behavior.
For the second experiment, subjects had a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) brain scan to examine the influence of sleep loss on brain regions involved in prosocial behaviors.
The results? Sleep deprivation appeared associated with lower activity in brain regions involved in social cognition while performing a social task. The decline in helping behavior appeared to correlate with the magnitude of the activity decline in these brain areas.
Finally, the researchers offer a real-world example, looking a data from donations given to a national charity between 2001 and 2016. The results are intriguing:
The appeared to be a reduction in giving in the week following the transition to daylight saving time when people adjusted to the loss of one hour’s sleep. The researchers saw no such reduction in states not observing daylight saving time.
My take — Sleep and prosocial behaviors
This study is the first to establish a link between sleep and helping behaviors. I look forward to additional research on the association between sleep quality and prosocial behaviors. For now, I will try to adhere to consensus recommendations for sleep:
- The American Academy of Sleep Medicine and Sleep Research Society specifies that adults aged 18 to 60 should regularly sleep at least seven hours per night.
- The National Sleep Foundation recommends seven to nine hours for adults aged 18 to 64 years and seven to eight hours is recommended for those 65 years of age and older.
Thank you for joining me today for this look at sleep and charity. One more thing: Here’s a guide to improving your sleep hygiene:
SLEEP MAY INFLUENCE THE QUALITY OF HUMAN RELATIONS, according to a new study. A lack of good quality sleep is associated with a lower desire to help others.
I have often written about the relationship between insufficient sleep and negative health outcomes. If you regularly get inadequate sleep, you are more prone to develop several health conditions, including:
Insufficient sleep is associated with seven of the fifteen leading causes of death.
Unfortunately, many of the population sleep far less than the recommended minimum. The United States Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reports that up to 43 percent of adults reported short sleep in 2020.
I recently read a piece with this provocative title: “Insufficient Sleep Syndrome: Is it time to classify it as a major noncommunicable disease?”
But does sleep quality or quantity influence behaviors that benefit others? Today we look at the possible relationship between sleep and prosocial behavior.
Sleep loss makes us less prosocial.
Now that we have taken a quick look at how not getting sufficient sleep is linked to numerous health problems let’s look at prosocial behavior.
Historical studies show that inadequate sleep results in less activity in brain regions associated with empathy and prosocial behaviors such as voting. Sleep influences brain regions linked with social cognition, or the ability to process social information and respond to social situations.
A recent study indicates that sleep influences the quality of human relations. A loss of good quality sleep is associated with a decreased desire to help others.
Researchers did three separate experiments to understand better how sleep influences prosocial behavior at the societal, group, and individual levels.
For the first experiment, researchers looked at the impact of sleep deprivation on helping behavior within the same individual. The scientists used a questionnaire to assess the willingness of the subjects to help others in everyday situations (such as helping a stranger carrying groceries or needing directions).
One day, the participants did a questionnaire after being awake for 24 hours. On a separate day, the subjects had a night’s sleep before doing the questionnaire.
Sleep and charity: Study participants demonstrated a decline in the desire to help others after being sleep deprived than after being rested.
This decline in prosocial behavior persisted after the researchers controlled for factors such as attention, mood, and motivation to engage in effortful behavior.
For the second experiment, subjects had a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) brain scan to examine the influence of sleep loss on brain regions involved in prosocial behaviors.
The results? Sleep deprivation appeared associated with lower activity in brain regions involved in social cognition while performing a social task. The decline in helping behavior appeared to correlate with the magnitude of the activity decline in these brain areas.
Finally, the researchers offer a real-world example, looking a data from donations given to a national charity between 2001 and 2016. The results are intriguing:
The appeared to be a reduction in giving in the week following the transition to daylight saving time when people adjusted to the loss of one hour’s sleep. The researchers saw no such reduction in states not observing daylight saving time.
My take — Sleep and prosocial behaviors (CHARITY)
This study is the first to establish a link between sleep and helping behaviors. I look forward to additional research on the association between sleep quality and prosocial behaviors. For now, I will try to adhere to consensus recommendations for sleep:
- The American Academy of Sleep Medicine and Sleep Research Society specifies that adults aged 18 to 60 should regularly sleep at least seven hours per night.
- The National Sleep Foundation recommends seven to nine hours for adults aged 18 to 64 years and seven to eight hours is recommended for those 65 years of age and older.
Thank you for joining me today for this look at sleep and pro-social behaviors (charity). Here’s a guide to improving your sleep hygiene:
Sleep hygiene: Tips and habits checklist
The information I provided in this blog is for educational purposes only and does not substitute for professional medical advice. Please consult a medical professional or healthcare provider if you seek medical advice, diagnoses, or treatment. I am not liable for risks or issues associated with using or acting upon the information in this blog.
