The Influence of Sleep on Subjective Well-Being: An Experience Sampling Study

Abstract

Previous research has associated sleep with subjective well-being (SWB), but less is known about the underlying within-person processes. In the current study, we investigated how self-reported and actigraphy-measured sleep parameters (sleep onset latency, sleep duration, sleep satisfaction, social jetlag, and sleep efficiency) influence SWB (positive affect [PA], negative affect [NA], and life satisfaction [LS]) at the within- and betweenperson levels. Multilevel analyses of data from 109 university students who completed a 2-week experience sampling study revealed that higher within-person sleep satisfaction was a significant predictor of all three components of next day’s SWB (ps,.005). Higher between-person sleep satisfaction was also related to higher levels of PA and LS (ps,.005), whereas shorter self-reported between-person sleep onset latency was associated with higher PA and LS, and lower NA (ps,.05). However, longer actigraphy-measured within-person sleep onset latency was associated with higher next day’s LS (p =.028). When including within- and betweenperson sleep parameters into the same models predicting SWB, only within- and between-person sleep satisfaction remained a significant predictor of all components of SWB. Additionally, we found an effect of higher self-reported within-person sleep onset latency on PA and of shorter self-reported within-person sleep duration on LS (ps,.05). Our results indicate that the evaluative component of sleep—sleep satisfaction—is most consistently linked with SWB. Thus, sleep interventions that are successful in not only altering sleep patterns but also enhancing sleep satisfaction may stand a better chance at improving students’ SWB.