New Study Finds Another Big Reason Why You Should Get More Sleep

All of us have felt lonely at one point or another, though for some people this feeling is more consistently present. In a 2024 American Psychiatric Association poll, about 1 in 3 adults in the U.S. reported feeling lonely at least once a week over the past year.

But research suggests that there could be a surprising way to ease this feeling. A study presented in June analyzed the relationship between sleep health and loneliness among 2,297 U.S. adults. It found that having a good night’s rest was linked to a reduction in feeling lonely. (The recommended amount of sleep for adults is between seven and nine hours.)

Each study participant filled out an online sleep questionnaire and was rated on the De Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale, which measures emotional and social loneliness. “Emotional loneliness” was defined in the study as missing an intimate relationship, like one with a partner. “Social loneliness” was defined as missing a wider social network.

There was a stronger link between better sleep and lower loneliness ― especially emotional loneliness ― for younger adults, although researches were not sure why. Sleep health was measured by assessing sleep regularity, satisfaction, timing, duration, efficiency and alertness during the day.

To understand why being at a younger age may strengthen the relationship between sleep and loneliness, more research is needed. “I want to see more studies to bolster that finding, because there are some conflicting studies in the past that have shown that age has nothing to do with this correlation,” Nicole Moshfegh, a clinical sleep psychologist at a private practice in Los Angeles who was not affiliated with the new study, told HuffPost.

Why might feelings of loneliness be