Sleep is an inevitable part of one's well being. It is well documented and in our own experience sleep characteristics affect our mood the following day and sleep trackers have become an inevitable part of some of us. According to new research published in the journal ‘Emotion’, people's perceptions of their sleep have a greater influence on their wellness and life satisfaction than the outcomes of sleep-tracking equipment.

      The study led by a group of researchers at the University of Warwick 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 between-person levels. The study was conducted among 109 University students. They were directed to record the time they went to bed and how long it took them to fall asleep, along with the time they woke up and the time they got out of bed. They were also asked to rate how satisfied they were with their sleep on a general basis. Alongside this self-reporting, participants’ sleep patterns and rest cycles were measured through an actigraph on their wrist.

      The team analyzed the data to compare people’s perceptions of their sleep and the actigraphy data against their emotions the following day. The 2-week experience sampling study revealed that higher within-person sleep satisfaction was a significant predictor of all three components of next day’s subjective well-being (SWB) (ps < .005). Higher between-person sleep satisfaction was also related to higher levels of positive affect (PA) and life satisfaction (LS) (ps < .005), whereas shorter self-reported between-person sleep onset latency was associated with higher PA and LS, and lower negative affect (NA) (ps < .05). However, longer actigraphy-measured within-person sleep onset latency was associated with higher next day’s LS (p = .028). Hence the researchers concluded that it is people’s perception of their sleep quality and not the actigraphy-based sleep efficiency which matters to their wellbeing.

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