Relationship between Personality and Sleep Quality of Young Adults: A Correlational Study

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to determine the relationship between the big five factors of personality and the domains of sleep quality, and to assess the difference, if any, in the personality factors and sleep quality of male and female young adults. Convenient sampling and snowball sampling techniques were used to gather a sample of 565 young adults (Females: 293; Males: 270; Prefer not to say: 2), aged between 18 to 25 years, all of whom were residents of West Bengal. The Big Five Inventory (BFI) and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) were employed to collect data and measure the variables under study. The obtained data was analyzed using Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation (r), Independent sample t test, Mann-Whitney U test and Multiple Regression Analysis. The results imply that all the personality factors (i.e., Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness and Neuroticism), except that of Openness to experience, are significantly correlated with sleep quality. The same four personality factors (i.e., Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness and Neuroticism) are also found to be significant predictors of sleep quality. Component 1 (Subjective sleep quality), component 5 (Sleep disturbances) and component 7 (Daytime Dysfunction) were found to bear a correlation with all the mentioned four factors of personality, thereby, contributing majorly to the significant relationship between personality and sleep quality. Hence, personality of an individual plays a considerable role in determining one’s sleeping patterns and quality of sleep. The gender difference is prevalent in sleep quality as female young adults are found to have poorer sleep quality than their male counterparts. However, it has little impact on personality as only Neuroticism is found to be considerably higher in females than in males.