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Sleep: A Pathway Linking Personality to Mortality Risk.
Shantel K Spears1, Hawley E Montgomery-Downs1, Shari Steinman1
1West Virginia University, 1124 Life Sciences Building, Morgantown, West Virgina, 26506-6040 United States.
Journal of Research in Personality
|July 26, 2019
Summary
Personality traits and sleep patterns influence longevity. This study reveals sleep duration mediates how conscientiousness affects mortality risk, with implications for health interventions.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Gerontology
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Personality traits and sleep are known predictors of longevity.
- The mediating role of sleep in the association between personality and mortality has not been previously investigated.
- Understanding these relationships is crucial for developing targeted health interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine whether sleep mediates the relationship between personality traits and longevity.
- To investigate the direct and indirect effects of personality on mortality risk through sleep patterns and daytime dysfunction.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal study with a 20-year follow-up.
- Utilized data from the Midlife Development in the United States cohort (N = 3,759).
- Employed proportional hazards and structural equation modeling to analyze personality, sleep duration, daytime dysfunction, and mortality risk.
Main Results:
- Lower conscientiousness was associated with increased death risk, mediated by quadratic sleep duration.
- Higher neuroticism and agreeableness, and lower conscientiousness predicted increased mortality risk through combined effects of sleep duration and daytime dysfunction.
- Lower extraversion predicted increased mortality risk indirectly via daytime dysfunction.
Conclusions:
- Sleep duration acts as a mediator between personality traits and mortality risk.
- Specific personality traits influence longevity through complex pathways involving sleep and daytime functioning.
- Findings support the development of personality-based health strategies to promote longevity.
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