Determined with the meaning of life? Now you can sleep peacefully!

Those people who have defined their vital meaning sleep better than others, and less often suffer from insomnia - so say the scientists.

Many people experience regular sleep disorders. For example, it is often disturbed by incomprehensible nocturnal awakenings, poor sleep, daytime drowsiness. As a rule, most such people become permanent patients of polyclinics: they are prescribed sedative and hypnotic medicines, various physiotherapy procedures. But all this has only a temporary effect. And only some doctors advise to address to the psychotherapist: indeed, often only such an expert can solve the "sleeping" problem.

How to improve sleep? Specialists representing Northwestern University say: for a high-grade and high-quality sleep, our life should be filled with meaning.

Professor Jason Ong and a group of scientists conducted a survey of more than 800 volunteers age sixty and older. The main question was: how do they assess the quality of their own sleep, and do they consider their lives full of meaning?

In all, the test consisted of thirty-two questions. For example, one of the most "capacious" questions was this: "Could you apply such a statement to yourself:" I'm proud of what I did in the past, and what I intend to do "?

It was found that people who are satisfied with their lives, clearly representing what they are living for, sleep without any problems. They are much less likely to experience apnea - this term refers to short-term breath retardation, which adversely affects the quality of sleep and can eventually cause cardiovascular disorders. People who know their life's meaning, more than 50% complain less often about restless legs syndrome, they do not know daytime drowsiness.

As it was indicated, only elderly people participated in the project - among them were representatives of both the female and the male. None of the participants had senile dementia. However, according to scientists, such a trend, based on the meaning of life, can and in people of younger age. The only nuance - young people are much less likely to think about the fullness of their lives with meaning.

Can psychotherapists adjust the focus of thoughts? Is there a causal relationship between our life affirmation and the quality of sleep? The researchers themselves argue that further experiments can prove the existence of this connection. And the meaning of life will really help to sleep a quiet sleep.

The study is described on the pages of Sleep Science and Practice (https://sleep.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s41606-017-0015-6).