Having negative thoughts could be the result of lack of sleep or getting to bed very late at night, a recent Binghamton University study revealed. Repetitive pessimistic thinking was linked to people who get only a few hours of sleep compared to those who get "enough" hours of slumber. And relating sleeping habits to the patterns of behavior participants exhibited, researchers found that there was a large contrast in thought patterns for those who sleep late versus early bed goers.
The researchers asked 100 young adults at Binghamton University in New York to complete a battery of questionnaires and two computerized tasks which was used to assess their levels of repetitive negative thinking by gauging how much they worry, ruminate and obsess about a particular thing or thought. They were also asked to give information on their sleeping habits like the time when they usually go to bed, the number of hours of sleep that they gate, and the continuity of their sleep.
The results reveal that those who were the evening types, and those with short sleep durations and late bedtimes reported experiencing more repetitive negative thoughts.
The study also showed that repetitive negative thinking was linked to sleep disruption. The research team is encouraging those at risk of developing a mental health disorder to lend time to their sleep.
"If further findings support the relation between sleep timing and repetitive negative thinking, this could one day lead to a new avenue for treatment of individuals with internalizing disorders," says study co-author Meredith Coles.
"Studying the relation between reductions in sleep duration and psychopathology has already demonstrated that focusing on sleep in the clinic also leads to reductions in symptoms of psychopathology," added Coles.
Various studies have attributed sleeping very late at night and lack of sleep have been to many illnesses such as diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, as well as health conditions like obesity, weaker immune system, and mental and mood disorders.
The findings appear in Springer's journal Cognitive Therapy and Research.
