The Relationship Between Big Five Personality Traits and Sleep Patterns: A Systematic Review

Sleep, an intrinsic aspect of human life, is experienced by individuals differently which may be influenced by personality traits and characteristics. Exploring how these traits influence behaviors and sleep routines could be used to inform more personalized and effective interventions to promote better sleep. Our objective was to summarize the existing literature on the relationship between personality traits and sleep patterns through a systematic review. An abstract and keyword search was conducted in PsycINFO, Cochrane and PubMed, collecting relevant literature, published between January 1980 and June 2024. A total of 1713 records were found, of which 18 studies were analyzed in the descriptive synthesis. Relevant studies covered populations in 11 different countries, Australia, China, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Italy, Japan, Poland, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States, comprising a total of 58,812 subjects. All studies reported an association between a sleep pattern with at least one of the Big Five personality traits (agreeableness, conscientiousness, extraversion, neuroticism, openness to experience). Ten studies found associations between personality and sleep quality, all of which reported a link between neuroticism and sleep quality (effect sizes 0.183-0.40). Five studies found an association between conscientiousness and morningness (effect sizes 0.16-0.35). Other sleep patterns linked to personality traits included sleep duration, nightmare frequency and distress, sleep deficiency, sleep continuity, insomnia severity and sleep problems, sleep hygiene, sleep latency and daytime sleepiness. This novel systematic review confirms that sleep and personality traits are related, suggesting that those traits should be considered when trying to understand or change one's sleep behavior.