Sleepiness, sleep duration, and human social activity: An investigation into bidirectionality using longitudinal time-use data

Abstract

Daytime sleepiness impairs cognitive ability, but recent evidence suggests it is also an important driver of human motivation and behavior. We aimed to investigate the relationship between sleepiness and a behavior strongly associated with better health: social activity. We additionally aimed to investigate whether a key driver of sleepiness, sleep duration, had a similar relationship with social activity. For these questions, we considered bidirectionality, time of day, and differences between workdays and days off. Over 3 wk, 641 working adults logged their behavior every 30 min, completed a sleepiness scale every 3 h, and filled a sleep diary every morning (rendering >292,000 activity and >70,000 sleepiness datapoints). Using generalized additive mixed-effect models, we analyzed potential nonlinear relationships between sleepiness/sleep duration and social activity. Greater sleepiness predicted a substantial decrease in the probability of social activity (odds ratio 95% CI = 0.34 to 0.35 for days off), as well as a decreased duration of such activity when it did occur. These associations appear especially robust on days off and in the evenings. Social duration moderated the typical time-of-day pattern of sleepiness, with, for example, extended evening socializing associated with lower sleepiness. Sleep duration did not robustly predict next-day social activity. However, extensive social activity (>5 h) predicted up to 30 min shorter subsequent sleep duration. These results indicate that sleepiness is a strong predictor of voluntary decreases in social contact. It is possible that bouts of sleepiness lead to social withdrawal and loneliness, both risk factors for mental and physical ill health.

Sleepiness is a signal to go to bed: data and model simulations

“…The results complement a recent laboratory study [ 63 ], that reported that following a single night of total sleep deprivation, increased sleepiness was associated with increased self-reported motivation for sleep preparatory behaviors such as rest and being alone and decreased motivation for physical and social activities. In a recent analysis of the association between sleepiness and social activity in the real world it was found that sleepiness was associated with reduced social activities in the evening in particular [ 64 ].…”

Homeostatic regulation of energetic arousal during acute social isolation-converging evidence from the lab and the field

“…These could be a precursor to the more detrimental effects of long-term isolation. Loneliness shows a strong bidirectional relationship with feelings of energy and vigour (Axelsson et al, 2020;Holding et al, 2020) and has been linked to greater fatigue, as well as physical pain and depression (Jaremka et al, 2013). Similarly, a daily diary study showed that momentary perceived social isolation is related to higher sleepiness, fatigue, and lower energy the following day .…”

Sleepy and Secluded: Sleep Disturbances are Associated With Connectedness in Early Adolescent Social Networks

“…Sleep loss can also undermine motivation to seek out rewarding social activities such as forming new friendships, possibly due to increases in daytime sleepiness (Palmer & Alfano, 2017a). Indeed, adult research has found that daytime sleepiness may drive decreased social contact and decreased motivation to engage in social activities (Axelsson et al., 2020; Holding et al., 2020). It is possible that youth who reported greater sleep disturbances also experienced more daytime sleepiness, which may interfere with the ability to form and maintain positive social relationships with other youth overtime.…”