Have Trouble Sleeping? Maybe because You’re Lonely!

This is likely according to a recent study led by researchers from the University of Chicago which links loneliness to fragmented sleep. The definition of loneliness varies widely among people; some define it as lack of social life in person, in the internet or total isolation from people while some experience loneliness within the family. But all of them elicit a strong sense of emptiness and solitude.
In the study, researchers selected 95 adults (aged over 19 and 55 percent female), all from a close-knit rural town in South Dakota where farming is the primary occupation. Through interviews the levels of loneliness were assessed in addition to presence of depression, anxiety and stress, sleep quality and daytime sleepiness. The objective sleep levels were measured using wrist actigraphs (non-invasive device used to measure rest and activity cycles) worn for a week.
None of the participants are socially isolated because of their community setting, but some of them do express feelings of loneliness, though perceptions varied. However, those with higher loneliness scores have higher levels of sleep fragmentation even when other factors like age, sex, body mass index, risk of sleep apnea and negative mood are taken into account. Loneliness is not found to influence sleep duration and daytime sleepiness.
The study somehow verifies an earlier one published in 2002 wherein loneliness among students is found to influence sleep quality. The researchers commented that feeling secure in a social environment may be necessary in order to sleep soundly.
The study is published on the November issue of the journal Sleep.

Here is the link to more info: