Abstract
Although previous research has shown personality and sleep are each substantial predictors of health throughout the lifespan, little is known about links between personality and healthy sleep patterns. This study examined Big Five personality traits and a range of factors related to sleep health in 436 university students (M age = 19.88, SD = 1.50, 50% Male). Valid self-report measures of personality, chronotype, sleep hygiene, sleep quality, and sleepiness were analyzed. To remove multicollinearity between personality factors, each sleep domain was regressed on relevant demographic and principal component-derived personality factors in multiple linear regressions. Results showed that low conscientiousness and high neuroticism were the best predictors of poor sleep (poor sleep hygiene, low sleep quality, and increased sleepiness), consistent with other research on predictors of poor health and mortality risk. In this first comprehensive study of the topic, the findings suggest that personality has a significant association with sleep health, and researchers could profitably examine both personality and sleep in models of health and well-being.
Highlights
There is a rich tradition of research that links personality with substantial health outcomes (e.g., [1,2])
We found that high neuroticism, low conscientiousness, and low agreeableness explained approximately 17% of the variance in poor sleep hygiene, suggesting that people low in sleep hygiene may have poor emotion regulation skills, lower self-control, have difficulty getting along with others, and may be distrustful
Results showed that conscientiousness and neuroticism were the best predictors of sleep patterns
Summary
There is a rich tradition of research that links personality with substantial health outcomes (e.g., [1,2]). Using the Big Five, which is an integrative framework that describes regularities in behavior and hierarchically organizes them into broad personality traits [3], both high conscientiousness and low neuroticism have been linked with better health outcomes. People high in conscientiousness live longer lives because they engage in more health-promoting behaviors, including more physical activity, healthier diets, lower substance use, and fewer risky behaviors [8], and because they have more stable relationships and better integration into their communities [9]. People high in neuroticism are at greater risk of poor mental and physical health [10] and increased mortality [11]. Most people high in neuroticism have fewer health-promoting behaviors and engage in more risk taking [12], and they are very sensitive and more likely to report somatic complaints [13], possibly relevant to poor sleep. Some neurotic individuals—high in prudent worrying—are not at increased disease risk [14]
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