Mind Wandering, Sleep Quality, Affect and Chronotype: An Exploratory Study

Richard Carciofo,Kan Zhang,Nan Song,Feng Du,Manlio Vinciguerra

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0091285

Abstract

Poor sleep quality impairs cognition, including executive functions and concentration, but there has been little direct research on the relationships between sleep quality and mind wandering or daydreaming. Evening chronotype is associated with poor sleep quality, more mind wandering and more daydreaming; negative affect is also a mutual correlate. This exploratory study investigated how mind wandering and daydreaming are related to different aspects of sleep quality, and whether sleep quality influences the relationships between mind wandering/daydreaming and negative affect, and mind wandering/daydreaming and chronotype. Three surveys (Ns = 213; 190; 270) were completed with Chinese adults aged 18–50, including measures of sleep quality, daytime sleepiness, mind wandering, daydreaming, chronotype and affect (positive and negative). Higher frequencies of mind wandering and daydreaming were associated with poorer sleep quality, in particular with poor subjective sleep quality and increased sleep latency, night-time disturbance, daytime dysfunction and daytime sleepiness. Poor sleep quality was found to partially mediate the relationships between daydreaming and negative affect, and mind wandering and negative affect. Additionally, low positive affect and poor sleep quality, in conjunction, fully mediated the relationships between chronotype and mind wandering, and chronotype and daydreaming. The relationships between mind wandering/daydreaming and positive affect were also moderated by chronotype, being weaker in those with a morning preference. Finally, while daytime sleepiness was positively correlated with daydream frequency, it was negatively correlated with a measure of problem-solving daydreams, indicating that more refined distinctions between different forms of daydreaming or mind wandering are warranted. Overall, the evidence is suggestive of a bi-directional relationship between poor sleep quality and mind wandering/daydreaming, which may be important in attempts to deal with sleep problems and improve sleep quality. These findings and further research on this topic may also have implications for definitions and theories of mind wandering and daydreaming.

Highlights

The concepts of mind wandering and daydreaming are difficult to precisely define and distinguish, encompassing a wide variety of spontaneous and undirected mentation [1], but they are often used to refer to the shifting of attention away from the external environment, and any ongoing task, towards internally-focused mentation [2,3]
Separate multiple regression analyses with age and gender as predictor variables were done for the PSQI, rMEQ, daydream frequency (DF), mind wandering (MW), Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), PANAS, and PS-DD scales
Howell et al [30] reported that sleep quality seemed to mediate the correlation between morningness and mindfulness, and the present study showed that sleep quality (PSQI Global or component 7), at least partially mediated the relationships between rMEQ and DF, and rMEQ and MW

Summary

Introduction

The concepts of mind wandering and daydreaming are difficult to precisely define and distinguish, encompassing a wide variety of spontaneous and undirected mentation [1], but they are often used to refer to the shifting of attention away from the external environment, and any ongoing task, towards (task-unrelated) internally-focused mentation [2,3]. This seems to occur frequently for most people, being reported in approximately 30–50% of thought-probe responses in laboratory and field studies (e.g., [4,5]). Kunzendorf et al [13] found a strong negative correlation between selfreported hours of sleep per night and the frequency of daydreaming, and Mikulincer et al [16] found that task-unrelated thought increased over 72-hours of sleep deprivation ( only in participants rated as high in trait mind wandering)

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion