Snooze your way to well-being: Baylor study finds 46 extra minutes of sleep boosts gratitude and resilience

Research has shown the numerous positive benefits that come with good sleep habits. Now, a new study from Baylor University shows that even subtle changes in the amount of sleep – in fact, only 46 extra minutes of sleep per night – are linked to improvements to overall well-being, including a beneficial impact on a person’s gratitude, flourishing, resilience and prosocial behaviors. 

The study – Gratitude, Flourishing, and Prosocial Behaviors Following Experimental Sleep Restriction and Sleep Extension – is published in the Journal of Positive Psychology. Alexander Do, B.S. ’24, conducted the research for his Honors thesis, advised by principal investigator Michael K. Scullin, Ph.D., associate professor of psychology and neuroscience and director of Baylor’s Sleep Neuroscience and Cognition Laboratory, and Sarah Schnitker, Ph.D., professor of psychology and director of the Science of Virtues Lab and BRIGHTS Center. Together, they explored the impact of sleep on mental well-being by observing how an increase in sleep duration influences positive psychology outcomes.

Previous sleep research has focused on the negative effects of sleep deprivation. This study shifts the focus by applying a positive psychology framework, considering how sleep can actively enhance well-being rather than merely avoiding adverse outcomes. Gratitude, resilience and flourishing are typically viewed as personality traits that support good sleep, but Do’s research investigated the reverse hypothesis – whether sleep itself can enhance these positive states.

“Alex did an excellent job coming up with a novel thesis idea, which built a bridge between the work that he had been doing in my sleep lab for two years prior and a new area that would expand the sleep field in a meaningful way,” Scullin said. “His research question on the relationship between sleep, gratitude, and flourishing initiated a research collaboration. Before this project, Dr. Schnitker and I hadn’t worked together.”

“This study is exciting because it expands what we know about the health effects of sleep restriction and extension to include variables related to forming flourishing moral communities,” Schnitker said. “As Baylor leans into its new strategic plan, Baylor In Deeds, we will need to move out of our academic silos to conduct the type of research that integrates knowledge across different areas of study.”

Research findings

The research investigated 90 young adults who were randomly assigned to late bedtimes, early bedtimes, or to sleep normally across a single workweek (monitored by actigraphy) to examine if improved sleep could bolster mental well-being, changes in state and trait feelings of flourishing, resilience and gratitude, and behavioral expressions of gratitude in a journal.

Results showed that:

• Participants who extended their sleep showed marked improvements in resilience, gratitude and overall flourishing. “We saw that people who increased their sleep by 46 minutes a night ended up feeling more resilience, gratitude, life satisfaction, and purpose in life,” Scullin said.
• Participants who restricted their sleep experienced the opposite effect with declines in the same feelings, suggesting that even minor sleep losses may negatively influence mental health and social behaviors. “When people were cut back on sleep by a mild average of 37 minutes a night, they experienced drops in mood, resilience, flourishing and gratitude,” Scullin said. 
• Although sleep manipulations can affect the mood of a participant, the improvements in resilience, gratitude and flourishing were not fully explained by mood changes. This suggests that the benefits of more sleep had a greater effect on overall well-being beyond current moods and outlooks.

Do said gratitude can be recognized better when individuals have hope and a purpose in life, while sleep increases feelings of both as well as resilience and flourishing.

“It turns out that getting more sleep has a broader influence than just feeling more alert during the day,” Scullin said. “Better sleep helps you to have a clear vision for your life and to be more resilient to the challenges that could happen tomorrow.”

Sleep for Prosocial Behaviors

The study also highlighted the importance of sleep health not only for individual well-being but for broader societal benefits as well. The researchers found that sleep influences prosocial behaviors, noting that well-rested individuals showed increased expressions of gratitude and a more positive social outlook. Although subtle, these variations in sleep could have broader implications for community behaviors, such as charitable giving.

“If you induce feelings of flourishing, then people are more likely to engage in prosocial behaviors in helping others in charitable giving and civic engagements,” Scullin said. “We conducted a separate survey study of 2,837 adult participants with an average age of 55. We found that people who were sleeping 7 to 9 hours a day and those who reported good sleep quality were 7% to 45% more likely to donate charitably.”

That study was published in the journal Sleep Medicine.

The findings emphasize the importance of sleep in promoting and enhancing well-being and suggest potential targets for future research and interventions.

Funding 

The study was supported by funding from a Baylor URSA grant (AHD), the National Science Foundation [1920730 and 1943323; MKS] and the John Templeton Foundation [61513; SAS].

ABOUT THE RESEARCHERS

Alexander Do, B.S. 24, is a first-year medical student at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston. His research was presented in June during SLEEP 2024, the annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies, a joint venture of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society.

Michael K. Scullin’s research investigates how sleep physiology impacts memory, cognition and health. He directs Baylor University’s Sleep Neuroscience and Cognition Laboratory.

Sarah A. Schnitker, Ph.D., studies virtue and character development in adolescents and emerging adults, with a focus on the role of spirituality and religion in virtue formation. She specializes in the study of patience, self-control, gratitude, generosity and thrift. She directs the Science of Virtues Lab and the BRIGHTS Center.

ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY 

Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked Research 1 institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 20,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 100 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions. Learn more about Baylor University at www.baylor.edu.

ABOUT THE COLLEGE OF ARTS & SCIENCES AT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY

The College of Arts & Sciences is Baylor University’s largest academic division, consisting of 25 academic departments in the sciences, humanities, fine arts and social sciences, as well as 11 academic centers and institutes. The more than 5,000 courses taught in the College span topics from art and theatre to religion, philosophy, sociology and the natural sciences. The College’s undergraduate Unified Core Curriculum, which routinely receives top grades in national assessments, emphasizes a liberal education characterized by critical thinking, communication, civic engagement and Christian commitment. Arts & Sciences faculty conduct research around the world, and research on the undergraduate and graduate level is prevalent throughout all disciplines. Visit the College of Arts & Sciences website.