Scientists have discovered five sleep patterns that determine certain physical and mental characteristics of those who adhere to them. This finding, reported by New Scientist, reveals that the relationship between sleep and well-being is more complex than previously thought, and that problematic sleep patterns do not affect the mind and body equally. The study, led by Valeria Kebets at Concordia University in Montreal (Canada), analyzed data on 770 healthy young adults.
This ‘new’ method allowed them to identify more complex and nuanced patterns in the relationship between sleep and health
Kebets’s team examined seven sleep-related factors, including satisfaction and use of sleep aids, and compared them with 118 additional measures, including cognitive tests, sleep surveys, and brain scans. Together, the team identified five distinct sleep-biopsychosocial profiles that show unique patterns of brain network organization. According to New Scientist, this method allowed them to identify more complex and nuanced patterns in the relationship between sleep and health. The information was collected through the Human Connectome Project, which includes brain imaging data as well as self-reported sleep, health, and lifestyle characteristics.
Let’s start by talking about the first sleep pattern they classified. This first profile is characterized by a general pattern of poor sleep: more disturbances, less satisfaction, and longer time to fall asleep. People in this group presented symptoms of depression, anxiety, anger, fear, and stress. According to the researchers, those who fit this profile tend to get caught up in their thoughts and emotions, rather than focusing on their context, on their surroundings.
Second group: people with mental health symptoms who nevertheless maintain adequate sleep
As for the second group, also linked to poor sleep, they showed no difficulty sleeping. Kebets explained to New Scientist that this group represents “sleep resilience”: people with mental health symptoms who nevertheless maintain adequate sleep. From this group, the people still had mental health issues, including higher ADHD, anger, stress, fear, and sadness, and lower conscientiousness.
For the third type of sleep, people were associated with the use of sleep aids, ranging from prescription medications to herbal teas promoted as sleep-enhancing. People in this group demonstrated greater conscientiousness and reported feeling more satisfied in their friendships and emotional support networks. Those in this group experienced worse performance in memory and emotional recognition.
Fifth group: patients exhibited aggressive behavior and similar cognitive issues as profile four
For the fourth group, defined as sleeping less than seven hours per night, this deficit was associated with lower accuracy and longer reaction times on cognitive tests of emotional processing, language, and social skills. Greater aggression and increased connectivity between brain networks were also observed.
Sleep hours are not a good measure on their own
Finally, the fifth group was characterized by sleep disturbances, such as waking up several times during the night. These patients also exhibited aggressive behavior and similar cognitive issues as profile four, but were also more likely to have thought problems, anxiety, high blood pressure, be smokers, and show symptoms of alcohol dependence. Ultimately, according to the data and experts, sleep hours are not a good measure on their own, as some people need more or less sleep than others. What matters is quality, and this is affected in various ways by how, where, with whom, and when we sleep.
This research, according to experts, brings the scientific community closer to understanding the complex relationship between sleep and health. “The different sleep profiles were also supported by unique patterns of brain function measured with MRI, suggesting that sleep experiences are reflected not only in health and behavior, but also in brain wiring and activity,” says Aurore Perrault, a neuroscientist at Concordia University in Canada.
