Getting better sleep feels as good as winning a $250K jackpot

People who reported improved quality of sleep had high scores on screening tests for physical and emotional health

A recent study proves that improving your sleep over time is associated with better health and wellbeing. The findings come from analysis of more than 30,500 people who were followed for about four years, reported Health magazine.

University of Warwick researchers found that people who reported improved quality of sleep over that time period tended to also improve their scores on screening tests for physical and emotional health.

Overall, their mental health improvements over the four years were comparable to those seen in lottery winners two years after hitting a medium-size jackpot worth up to about $250,000.



So, to be clear, we're talking about a long-term mood boost—not the immediate euphoria of striking it rich. Unsurprisingly, people whose sleep patterns got worse over the study period were more likely to see their physical and emotional health scores go down.

Cathy Goldstein, MD, assistant professor of neurology in the University of Michigan Sleep Disorders Centre stated that the study results confirm what’s long been understood in the medical community: that good-quality sleep can improve mood.

“When we sleep well, we feel better. If you’re irritable and having difficulty with interpersonal relationships, that could affect your wellbeing. We also see changes in inflammatory markers with poor sleep, so people might actually physically feel worse when they’re not sleeping well.”

Studies have also shown that poor sleep can slow metabolism and lead to weight gain, she adds, which can also affect both physical and emotional health. Sleep quality is, in fact, linked to both physical and mental health.



This finding “challenges the predominant focus on sleep quantity in some of the public health messages,” say the authors, who argue that how well you sleep is at least as important as how much you sleep. There’s no question that many of us could benefit from better sleep practices, says Dr Goldstein.

“Most people need seven to nine hours, and humans don’t sleep with 100% sleep efficiency,” she says. “So if you turn off the lights at 10 and wake up at 5, that’s probably not a full seven hours of sleep.” She recommends spending at least seven and a half hours in bed, and paying close attention to how you feel during the day.

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